An article in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet about Finland Swedish claims that “loan words are the spice of a language.” On the other hand, some languages are staunchly against loan words and try to create new words rather than borrow ones from other tongues. What do you think?
What are your favorite loan words? Or words that you think should be loaned from one language to another?
I have written here before about my desire to see the Swedish word “sambo” adopted to English. Share some of your favorites!
10 comments:
Some of my translation teacher are kind of radical concerning loanwords. Most of them claim that, if there is an equivalent in Spanish, that word shall be used, even when we are talking about words which are broadly used by people in their everyday life, like 'sandwich' or 'marketing'. I guess this attitude only serves to make the use of loanwords more attractive :)
Thanks for the comment, Olli! I know that some cultures feel that loan words are unncessary. And if you have a word in your own language, sure, use it. But there are times when a loan word would enrich the language.
Best wishes,
BJ
I'd be intrigued to see the reaction to BJ's suggestion that "sambo" be adopted into the English language...
Seriously though, the Finland-Swedes and the Swedes come from such different backgrounds regarding language that they can hardly debate with one another.
The Finland-Swedes have always been in the minority, and there is an enormous cultural pressure from the 94% of Finland that has Finnish as its mother-tongue on the shard of Finland-Swedishism that is left over. But as Swedish was once the language of the upper classes, mostly in Helsinki and Viborg, it still retains disproportionate status. Which means that the Finland-Swedes feel comfortable with a few borrowings from Finnish: "Int' var det nån kiva juttu, det där om Kokkola, int' " is how a Finland-Swede would say "Det var ingen god berättelse / nyhet om Karleby". Even Finland-Swedes use the Finnish "Kokkola" for that city. Also expressions such as "Väntas nu!" are influenced by Finnish syntax.
In Sweden, the loanwords come chiefly from outside, not indigenous, languages. Mainly English, but, I suppose there is immigrant patois too. None of these languages have the "posh" status that Helsingfors Finland-Swedish once enjoyed.
I was talking to a Finland-Swedish author only a few days ago, and this question of loanwords came up. The Finland-Swedes don't have such strong opinions; they speak as they want to.
P.S. to my last posting:
The dominant nation always hates the fact that there are autonomous versions of the language in the country next door, which they have no control over. The Swedish reaction to fennicisms is the same as the Netherlands reaction to the Dutch spoken in Flanders (i.e. part of Belgium): anything ranging from condescension via mockery to contempt. Linguists in big countries tend to be control freaks, and don't want the peasants next door to be able to get away with speaking as they please.
Hi Eric!
Well, I know "Sambo" has bad connotations in English, but it isn't pronounced in the same way as "sambo". And why not take a word with unpleasant memories and use it for something good? Or what else do you suggest as a good word for "partner" in English?
Thanks for all the info on Finland-Swedish, which is something very few people know about. Fascinating!
Best wishes,
BJ
German has a lovely long word, similar in meaning to "sambo": Lebensabschnittsgefährte(r).
It means the partner accompanying you at the current stage of your life. Of course it's not entirely serious, but excellent for those moments when you're not sure quite how to introduce your partner...
Unfortunately it might be a bit long for English tongues to get around.
Yes, BJ, I suppose you can overlay an old and no longer acceptable meaning of a word by re-introducing it with a revised meaning. Sam-boo, is one, I suppose.
As for the Finland-Swedes, they are the exception that makes the rule. Although a minority, they are not homogeneous, as Finland-Swedes coming from Ostrobothnia have a greater tendency to use dialect, non-standard usage, and so on.
The strongest dialects in Ostrobothnia (aka Österbotten, Pohjanmaa) have, however, nothing to do with Finnish, unlike my examples above. In Närpes they speak a very "Old Norse-like" dialect with declensions of the noun, rather like Icelandic as well.
And the people from Åland don't even regard themselves as Finland-Swedes. Their dialects of Swedish also link up with those in Sweden. Hardly anyone speaks Finnish as their mother-tongue on the Åland Isles, which only became part of Finland after World War I for various complex political reasons.
The city of Viborg, now in Russia, used to have quite a few Swedish-speakers before World War II, when Finland was kicked out of the area. The refugees moved to Österbotten - i.e. as far away from Russia as they could get.
Finally, Swedish was spoken, before World War II on some islands in northern Estonia. These all fled in 1944 to Sweden, and their descendants live in Roslagen, on the east coast, above Stockholm.
Yes, I can't imagine too many English-speakers wanting to say, "May I introduce you to my Lebensabschnittsgefährte(r)?" But we do need a better word in English!
And, Eric, thanks so much for the fascinating information!
Best wishes,
BJ
I can't even imagine many Germans wanting to say the whole of Lebensabschnittsgefährte(r) [hereinafter: L-A-G] several times in the same conversation. I bet you there a few Germans who say "partner".
The Woxicon (no, I didn't make that up) claims there is no suitable synonym for L-A-G, as above. The Gay Dissenter writes several paragraphs on the question in German, outlining the pro's and cons. In reply, one Mikael points out that L-A-G is too "gefühlsarm" (lacking in feeling), neutral and bland.
Maybe the Germans will discover "sambo" and borrow it from Swedish, pronouncing it "zambo"...
Other longish German words have been reduced to abbreviations, such as Panzerkraftwagen (PzW; armoured vehicle) and so on. And the Russians do a good line in abbreviation too: GULag is short for "Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitel'no Trudovykh Lagerei i Koloniy", (Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies) which ended up meaning the camps themselves, rather than the administration.
Interesting how the Germanic languages have such long words. These words can sound nice or offer a particular meaning, but they aren't always the best choice necessarily. L-A-G, as you pointed out, is not very useful when talking about one's partner. So besides 'partner' (or 'zambo' perhaps), what would cohabiting Germans say? Do you know, Eric?
Best wishes,
BJ
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