Hi everyone. It's Jennifer here with a different kind of vocabulary lesson.
We're going to look at foreign words in English.
It's actually not such a strange topic because we all know that language
develops and changes over time.
There are different influences on a language, and that includes the influence of other languages.
So are you curious to know some of the foreign words in English? Then let's get started.
Carpe diem!
I'm going to share eight examples of foreign words in English, and you already heard the first:
Carpe diem. This is Latin and it means seize the day.
Hear this pronounced different ways. I hear carpe diem...
carpe diem... and there may be other variations.
We use the expression "carpe diem" to encourage someone to make the most of an opportunity.
One film that made this expression very memorable is Dead Poets Society
with Robin Williams.
If you haven't seen the film, I recommend it. You can easily find the "carpe diem" seen from Dead Poets Society
on YouTube.
So the next time you feel inspired to take a risk, you can cry out, "Carpe diem!"
Speaking of inspiration, let's talk about aficionados or aficionados. I've heard it said both ways.
We borrowed this word from Spanish, but here in the u.s. we definitely say it with an American accent.
It comes from the Spanish verb "to inspire affection."
You can be an aficionado of something: an aficionado
of wine, of art, of tennis. Or we could use a noun modifier before
"aficionado": a wine aficionado, an art aficionado, a coffee aficionado.
Similar words are "lover" and
"enthusiast." We can talk about a wine lover, an art enthusiast, a tennis enthusiast.
So aficionados are people who love something, and they've gained a lot of knowledge about this subject with great enthusiasm.
You can tell me in the comments what kind of aficionado you are
One language we've borrowed heavily from is French.We could have a few lessons on French words used in English.
Here's one you may hear in the news these days:
tête-à-tête.
Literally, it means head to head, but it refers to a private conversation.
Think of it as two people putting their heads close together for a private talk.
I was at the hairdresser's the other day, and I heard a woman talking to her friend as she was leaving.
She said, "Call me sometime next week. We'll have a tête-à-tête."
But what really caught my attention was her pronunciation.
She said a tête-à-tête/
I don't say it that way, but again there are variation with these foreign words in English.
So although I say tête-à-tête, you may hear other variations like tête-à-tête.
If you're ever unsure about pronunciation, you can go to an online dictionary,
especially a learner's dictionary.
They'll have speech models for you to listen to.
Another resource I've recommended to learners is YouGlish. Youglish.com
Just type in the word and you can even filter for British, American, and Australian English.
Think about the world news right now. Do you know which two political leaders are scheduled for a tête-à-tête?
Here's another French word and we use it to talk about leadership. Laissez-faire.
In my mind, this kind of sounds like the adjective "lazy."
So that's probably how I learned the meaning when I first heard laissez-faire.
Literally, it means to allow someone to do something.
We use laissez-faire as an adjective to refer to
the kind of approach that doesn't call for tight control or a lot of intervention.
It's a hands-off approach, so we can talk about a lazy fair approach, a lazy fair attitude.
Again let's go over some variations in pronunciation.
I've heard laissez-faire...
Here's a question.
Would you prefer to work for someone who supervises you very closely or would you prefer
someone who has a very laissez-faire leadership style?
Did you know English also makes use of Italian words?
When the weather grows warm in the U.S., more and more restaurants offer alfresco dining.
That means eating in the open air. In other words, these restaurants have outdoor seating.
Alfresco can be written as one or two words. I've seen it both ways.
It comes from the Italian word "fresh." So think of alfresco dining as eating in the fresh, open air.
Do any cafes in your area offer alfresco dining? Or maybe at home you sometimes eat alfresco.
The next foreign word is a fun one, and I admit even I have trouble spelling this one.
But luckily I don't usually have to write it. I only use it in conversation.
Doppelgänger.
Can you guess the origin?
Doppelgängerr. It's German.
It usually refers to someone who looks exactly like you.
You might tell a friend, "I saw your doppelgänger at a store yesterday. It was so weird."
As I understand, this word comes from the German idea of having a double, like a ghostly double.
Have you ever seen someone's doppelgänger?
Let's shift back to French. If I talk about people leaving en masse,
voting en masse, or
protesting en masse...
Can you guess what kind of numbers I'm talking about?
I'm referring to a high number, right? En masse refers to the whole, a whole group.
We use it as an adverb to explain that people are acting as a whole group, one body.
Why might people rush to the exits and mass?
I'll end with an expression that will help you explain your position on a topic.
Per se comes from Latin and it means by itself or in itself.
Sometimes you need to explain your general view or opinion on a matter and then comment on a more specific
aspect or case.
Here's an example. I don't have a problem with tattoos per se, but covering yourself
head-to-toe with them can be somewhat distracting.
Here "per se" is like "in general" or "overall."
What do you think about social media?
Use "per se" to create a contrast between a broad view and a narrow view.
Here are the questions I asked. You can use them for practice. Answer in the comments. Carpe diem!
I'll do my best to offer corrections as time allows, but you can also help one another okay?
If you enjoyed learning foreign words with me,
please like this video and follow me on social media for more language practice throughout the week.
That's all for now. As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!
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