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A Certain 'Je ne Sais Quoi': Words We Pinched from Other Languages (Hardback)
$15.09 - Save $0.79 (4%) - RRP $15.88 Free delivery worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 24 hours | |Short Description for A Certain 'Je ne Sais Quoi'English is enriched with many borrowings and influences from other languages. Aficionado, chutzpah, pro bono, hoi polloi, ketchup, nous, zeitgeist - we use these foreign words every day without thinking of their origins, but what do they actually mean? This book offers information for 'connoisseurs' (French) of the English language.
Full description- Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Ltd
- Published: 10 September 2009
- Format: Hardback 176 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Language: Reference & General | Language: History & General Works | Historical & Comparative Linguistics
- ISBN 13: 9781843173649 ISBN 10: 1843173646
- Sales rank: 59,667
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Full description for A Certain 'Je ne Sais Quoi'
English as we know it today is enriched with many borrowings and influences from other languages. Aficionado, chutzpah, pro bono, hoi polloi, ketchup, nous, zeitgeist - we use these foreign words every day without thinking of their origins, but what do they actually mean? And just how and why did we English speakers absorb such exotic imports? Each phrase has a fascinating history; colonialism, foreign trade, invasion and immigration all have their role to play in the evolution of our language. Did you know, for example, that 'lingua franca' is Italian for 'Frankish language' - a name given to a mixed common language used by diplomats of different nationalities in medieval times? Or that the seemingly modern 'bandana' comes from the Sanskrit for the ancient Indian technique of tie-dying fabric? A Certain "Je Ne Sais Quoi" is an accessible and entertaining treasury of information that 'connoisseurs' (French) of the English language will love!
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