Foreign words and phrases

[Lesley D]

One of the many aspects about languages I find interesting is the cross over usage of words and phrases that we use readily or instinctively when we speak or write (and I am not referring to Spanglish). Over time certain 'standard and official' foreign phrases or words have been adopted and used in everyday English, Spanish and French- the three languages I can vouch for but I know the same holds true for all other living languages. Foreign phrases and words are also considered to be universally used and understood regardless of the language of the speaker or reader.

One of the reasons why English phrases and words are used in other languages is because it's the most widely spoken lingua franca (a language spoken by those whose first language is not English). Latin, which is no longer a spoken language, is still visible through certain medium such as in the medical field, on currency, flags, on crests as a motto, names of flowers and in grammatical analysis when studying any romance language just to name a few areas.

Recently in a thread I used a foreign phrase, which is not characteristic of me but I do use them from time to time. However, I guess I am influenced too by this dynamic which I am completely in favor of since it does not contribute to the destruction of a language unlike Spanglish and other forms of language mixing and broken speech that we commonly hear today. As well, foreign phrases and words such as the ones I will reference below are commonly used in written and spoken speech.

Foreign phrases and words add flare to literature, or are used to emphasize a point or simply they don't have an equivalent translation or usage other than in their language of origin. As well, I see foreign phrases and words on menus, signs, commercial ads etc. All used with the same goal, which is to emphasize a point or to catch the reader's attention. However, incorrect usage innocently of a foreign phrase or word can be offensive, funny, ironic etc. ...Por lo tanto hay que tener cuidado.

My siblings and my peers are much stronger in this area of language than I am. I don't know as many as I should IMO and when I come across some of these foreign words or phrases (that are not one of the languages I speak) when reading I have to stop reading or look up the meaning later on. Sometimes it's easy to get the gist of the phrase, however it's always best to be sure of the meaning rather than try to interpret it thus changing the context of what's being read.

Here is a list (not exhaustive) of foreign words and phrases and their origin that I use and are commonly used in English. What I find interesting is the amount of French and Spanish (even Italian and Latin) used in everyday English.

1) ad hoc (Latin)- something impromptu, on the spur of the moment
2) à deux (French)- anything for two. For example 'a meal for two'
3) adieu (French)- goodbye
4) ad infinitum (Latin)- no end, without end
5) adiós (Spanish)- goodbye
6) ad nauseum (Latin)- to an annoying degree
7) aficionado (Spanish)- a fan of something, an enthusiast
8 à la … (French) – the manner, the way in which something is done
9) à la carte (French)- a dish that’s not part of a set menu
10) à la mode (French)- in style or fashionable
11) al dente (Italian)- not cooked completely, not soft
12) amor mío/ mis amores (Spanish)- my love
13) apéritif (French)- an alcoholic beverage before a meal
14) argot (French)- slang/colloquial jargon
15) arrivederci (Italian)- goodbye
16) au contraire (French) – on the contrary
17) auf Wiedersehen (German)- goodbye
18) au gratin (French) – food cooked or baked with breadcrumbs
19) au mieux (French)- at best
20) au naturel (French)- natural or naked
21) au revoir (French)- goodbye
22) autobahn (German) –highway
23) autopista (Spanish)- highway
24) autoroute (French) –highway
25) baguette (French)- French bread stick
26) bien entendu (French) – understood, 'of course' (in the sense of without having to ask)
27) bien sûr (French)- of course
28) blasé (French)- it’s hard to describe this one but along the lines of 'boring', 'dull', 'indifferent'
29) bodega (Spanish) – wine shop
30) bona fide (Latin)- genuine
31) bon appétit (French)- enjoy your meal
32) bon marché (French) –cheap, a bargain
33) bonne chance (French) good luck
34) bon voyage (French)- have a good trip

…..I did this alphabetically. So this list is to be continued.


Au revoir,

LDG.

[Lesley D]

So far it could be a coincidence that the majority of commonly used foreign phrases in my list are French but at the same time there is somewhat of an explanation for the French popularity as opposed to other commonly used foreign phrases that are Spanish, Italian, just to name a few other languages. Also out from doing this list it has helped reinforce my visibility of the inherent usage and survival of Latin phrases and words that are still very common today.

Continuing my list from above:

35) ça va? (French)- okay (everything okay)
36) caveat emptor (Latin)- 'let the buyer beware'
37) c'est la vie (French)- such is life
38) ciao (Italian)- goodbye
39) consommé (French)- a clear meat or chicken soup
40) coup d'état (French)- overthrowing of a government. Usually with violence
41) cum laude (Latin)- with honors
42) curriculum vitae (Latin) - resume
43) déclassé (French)- no class
44) déjà vu (French)- a feeling of repetition of something or a moment in the past
45) et cetera (Latin)- and so on and so forth
46) faux pas (French) – a slip that one usually regrets, a mistake
47) gringo (Spanish)- a general term for a foreigner. (let’s leave it at that please)
48) joie de vivre (French)- the joy of life
49) laissez-faire (French)- usually refers to a policy with little government intervention
50) mi casa es su casa (Spanish) – this is extremely universal no translation required.
51) moi non plus (French)- me neither
52) nouveau riche (French)- a term used to refer to recently acquired wealth but a person is still considered socially low class or inferior
53) paella (Spanish)- universal name for this infamous Spanish dish. No explanation required
54) par excellence (French)- 'above all' (por excelencia in Spanish)
55) per capita (Latin)- per person
56) per diem (Latin) – per day
57) per se (Latin) –essentially
58) picante (Spanish) –hot, highly spiced
59) pro bono (Latin)- for the good of the public

I think these two lists have good examples of foreign phrases and words used universally.

Although these phrases are considered 'universally used' and understood I wonder how universal they really are. For example are French phrases more common in Europe and Spanish ones more common in the Americas or is there really true universal usage and comprehension.

I wonder if the French phrases would be just as well understood and used in Miami for example (one of my favorite cities with a high concentration of Spanish speakers) as opposed to any European country except for France and Switzerland of course.

Or how common are the Spanish phrases outside of the Americas?

What makes some phrases (from a language perspective) more common than others? I have some ideas but it's food for thought.

To those of you who are reading this thread how many of the foreign phrases did you know or understand? Hopefully someone will respond.


LDG.

[AnnaC]

The ones I know and have used are.

ciao.... (Italian)- goodbye
caveat emptor... (Latin)- 'let the buyer beware'
consommé..... (French)- a clear meat or chicken soup
coup d'état.... (French)- overthrowing of a government. Usually with violence
déjà vu..... (French)- a feeling of repetition of something or a moment in the past
et cetera..... (Latin)- and so on and so forth ( but spell it ect.)
mi casa es su casa..... (Spanish) – this is extremely universal no translation required.
gringo.....
paella....I had to look that up after an episode of Seinfeld
par excellence..... (French)- 'above all' (por excelencia in Spanish)
per capita..... (Latin)- per person
per se.... (Latin) –essentially
picante..... (Spanish) –hot, highly spiced
pro bono...... (Latin)- for the good of the public

I have to look at part one now.

[Chris]

I have used all of these excepting these two...

43) déclassé (French)- no class
51) moi non plus (French)- me neither

I find most of the others quite common in English (British English that is, or the variant of British English that I half-learnt to speak.. )

Two that I learnt in the USA only...

56) per diem (Latin) – per day
59) pro bono (Latin)- for the good of the public

and picante I learnt here -

[rellosk]

Originally Posted by Lesley D

Although these phrases are considered 'universally used' and understood I wonder how universal they really are. For example are French phrases more common in Europe and Spanish ones more common in the Americas or is there really true universal usage and comprehension.

To those of you who are reading this thread how many of the foreign phrases did you know or understand? Hopefully someone will respond.

These are the ones by that I would not consider universal. But then again language is not my forte.

à deux (French)- anything for two. For example 'a meal for two'
argot (French)- slang/colloquial jargon
au mieux (French)- at best
autopista (Spanish)- highway
autoroute (French) –highway
bien entendu (French) – understood, 'of course' (in the sense of without having to ask)
bien sûr (French)- of course
bon marché (French) –cheap, a bargain
bonne chance (French) good luck
ça va? (French)- okay (everything okay)
joie de vivre (French)- the joy of life
moi non plus (French)- me neither


off topic: what is the corresponding phrase for c'est la vie in Spanish?

[AnnaC]

From list one

à la carte (French)- a dish that’s not part of a set menu
10) à la mode (French)- in style or fashionable
11) al dente (Italian)- not cooked completely, not soft
12) amor mío/ mis amores (Spanish)- my love
autopista (Spanish)- highway

bona fide (Latin)- genuine
bon appétit (French)- enjoy your meal
bon voyage (French)- have a good trip

Originally Posted by rellosk

off topic: what is the corresponding phrase for c'est la vie in Spanish?

I know I know, Esa es la vida

[monsoon68]

Originally Posted by Anna Coniglio

From list one

à la carte (French)- a dish that’s not part of a set menu
10) à la mode (French)- in style or fashionable
11) al dente (Italian)- not cooked completely, not soft
12) amor mío/ mis amores (Spanish)- my love
autopista (Spanish)- highway

bona fide (Latin)- genuine
bon appétit (French)- enjoy your meal
bon voyage (French)- have a good trip



I know I know, Esa es la vida

C'est la vie = Así es la vida.

[qgrande]

In Europe, I never use and hardly ever encounter those being used in texts or conversations in Dutch or English:

14) argot (French)- slang/colloquial jargon
17) auf Wiedersehen (German)- goodbye
23) autopista (Spanish)- highway (the Italian 'autostrada' sometimes is)
32) bon marché (French) –cheap, a bargain
36) caveat emptor (Latin)- 'let the buyer beware'
43) déclassé (French)- no class
51) moi non plus (French)- me neither

The other ones, including the Spanish terms are used here as well. I understood them all and I think it makes for a good 'universal' list, although it is easy to think of other French terms being used here ('Brasserie' if you list 'Bodega', a whole range of culinary terms and dishes if you list 'paella'), and much harder to think of other Spanish terms that are universal.
The list is a bit short on German terms, aren't 'Angst', 'Bierfest', 'Leitmotiv', 'Weltschmerz', etc. used in English as well?
Funny is that they are apparently really universal, not just in English, most on your list are used in Dutch as well (although of course there's lots of universal English terms used in other languages that should be added to a really universal list). A DR related question would be, how many on this list (apart from the Spanish ones of course) are generally used in the Dominican Republic/Latin America?

[Lesley D]

I see trends here with the responses thus far and so far they coincide with a theory I have as well. I have a reference that I will consult which may confirm that the usage of some of these universal phrases depends on many factors. One factor being that foreign phrase language usage coincides with the region among other components.

1) Chris- you are a perfect example of a person who has a good understanding of the universal phrases I referenced which were mostly French and Latin (just a coincidence) and you confirmed one fact that the usage of these phrases are common in British English (Europe) therefore region is a factor.

2) Rellosk- you proved another theory that on the other side of the globe, the USA primarily, the French phrases maybe are not as common or of 'universal' phrasal usage as deemed in other areas. Keeping in mind French has never been popular or a common second language in the USA thus possibly a reason for less exposure to or usage by the population of these universal phrases. BTW out of the ones you signaled as not universal IMO argot, bon marché, bonne chance, ça va and joie de vivre are quite common.

You made me smile with your selection of argot as not common because it is used in Spanish (a borrowed word from French) which means jerga (slang). However argot vs jerga has its regional usage as well.

c'est la vie = así es la vida. Please note many people when learning Spanish tend to say la vida es así which is not correct simply because así es la vida is a fixed expression along with a grammatical reason.

3) Anna- I think your knowledge of these universal phrases could be the closest to the norm and possibly it could be due to exposure to these phrases via different medium and your case a heritage language.

4) qgrande- thanks for your input. I was hoping you would comment because I was looking for opinions from people and their experience/ familiarity with foreign phrases from each region in the world. Your knowledge of the phrases listed compares to Chris and again it’s a European perspective. Yes, my list is short on German because it was made relative to the environment and the languages I speak but certainly there are a fair share of German foreign phrases that are 'universal' but I am not familiar with them or comfortable using them in conversation etc.

In terms of the DR, I think usage of foreign phrases are limited mostly to English phrases because that’s all I have heard and very limited at that (and again I don’t mean Spanglish). I refer to the equivalent of the list provided but of English universal phrases.

One aspect I noticed about the list regarding the French terms is the usage of these phrases is regional as well. Some of the French foreign phrases are more prevalent in French Canada as opposed to Europe. For example moi non plus is common in Montreal but it seems to be not so common in Europe as per Chris and qgrande.

Okay keep the comments coming. This is meant to be a lighthearted learning exercise and a friendly exchange of information.


LDG.

[Lesley D]

While browsing through some of the threads today I came across the foreign phrase vis-à-vis and it reminded me of this thread which I had a mental note to complete eventually. Therefore I continued where I left off in alphabetical order as much as possible.

Once again French seems to be the international language of flair, style and usage and it stands out in this last group of foreign phrases. Having reviewed my first two lists I still maintain that French foreign phrases probably are not as commonly used in Latin America but definitely in North America, Europe and in other continents around the world.

60) que será será (Spanish)- what will be will be
61) ragoût (French)- seasoned stew
62) renaissance (French)- rebirth, revival
63) salle à manger (French) – dining-room
64) sans (French) - without
65) savoir-faire (French) – 'the know how'
66) savoir-vivre (French)- ease, having the ability to be at ease in society
67) señor, señora, señorita (Spanish)- no explanation required (forms of address)
68) s'il vous plaît (French)- please
69) sine qua non (Latin)- something that is required, a necessity
70) soirée (French)- evening (a gathering with friends etc.)
71) sui generis (Latin)- unique, something unique
72) summa cum laude (Latin)- the highest honor or distinction
73) supermarché (French)- a large supermarket, grocery store
74) tapas (Spanish)- 'aperitivos'
75) veni, vidi, vici (Latin)- I came, I saw, I conquered
76) vis-à-vis (French) – means compared with or in relation to
77) voilà (French)- there!
78) Weihnachten (German)- Christmas
79) wunderbar (German)- wonderful
80) wurst (German)- sausage

From this last group how many did you know, use or understand?

-LDG.