THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS: HOW ENGLISH BECAME ENGLISH
Communication is essential to our lives, but how often do we stop to think about where the words we use have come from? Have you ever thought about which words in English have been borrowed from Arabic, French or Dutch? A recent book by Henry Hitchings, The Secret Life of Words, shows how and why English has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages, many originating from the most unlikely of places, such as shampoo from Hindi and kiosk from Turkish. Indeed, words do have a secret life, or rather a secret past. One learns things like that the English words taken from Basque are only two: anchovy and Basque. But etymology is just Hitching's starting point; he shows us that the history of our vocabulary is the history of our place in the world.
Hitchings' book covers the history of the English language from pre-Roman Britain to the latest street slang, though individual chapters tend to concentrate on particular cultural encounters or themes, sometimes in an extended way. A chapter called "Powwow", for instance, is an interesting account of the British early exploration of America and their encounter with its languages. A chapter called "Connoisseur" explores the 18th century's extensive relation between English and French, the rise of scientific writing, the use of Italian terms in music, and the lexicon of travel and exploration, including an account of the first confrontations of the British with Australian Aboriginal languages.
We usually talk of "borrowing" words. It is a way of describing in a simple manner a process that is very complex. Hitchings gives an intelligent account of what really happens when two languages come into contact. There is an exchange of terms; but the breadth and depth of that exchange is dependent upon the strength of the relationship. Long connections between two languages are likely to generate more borrowings. English, for example, has taken more words from French than from anywhere else, because the British have been engaged with French culture for a thousand years. But English has also taken a surprising amount from Native American languages, because the British settled there and, at the beginning, enjoyed fruitful relationships with the Native Americans. In contrast, English has taken next to nothing from Australian Aboriginal languages.
One of the themes of The Secret Life of Words is the recurring tension between those who want the language to be pure, simple and Germanic, and those who relish complexity and adopting new words. Hitchings points out that words only come into the language because there is a need for them, though at the same time, he thinks that "there are strong reasons for wanting a large degree of stability in our language."
Hitchings is clearly well informed on this subject. His book includes an extensive bibliography and index and many clarifying and interesting footnotes. Furthermore, the book is written in a clever, persuasive and delightful style and contains entertaining observations. All in all, The Secret Life of Words is an exhaustive account not only of the history of English, but also of how words witness history, reflect social change and remind us of our turbulent past.
Text adapted from The Independent (May 4, 2008)
borrow: manllevar / tomar prestado
slang: argot
breadth and depth: amplitud i profunditat / amplitud y profundidad
relish: gaudir / disfrutar