Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-42gr6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T22:05:35.259Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Translingual journey of English words and methodological suggestions

Crepe, pancake or jianbing (煎饼)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2022

Jieun Kiaer*
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Niamh Calway
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Hyejeong Ahn
Affiliation:
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

Extract

The English language freely borrows words from many languages; this is a process which has been well documented by several studies, particularly in the field of contact linguistics. However, an investigation into the massive influence that the widespread, popular, and global use of the Internet has had on the development of language calls for consistent and frequent empirical enquiry. The rapid growth in the number and diversity of Internet users from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and the increasing popularity and influence of Asian cultures and languages on the English language, is currently occurring at an unprecedented level. This study employs several data collection methods to demonstrate the arbitrary transnational journey of a few selected culinary terms that showcase the flexible adaptation and creation processes through which these new additions to the English language have passed. We do this by using two common culinary terms, both of which have been adapted to describe Asian dishes, as an example.

Type
Shorter Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Haugen, E. 1950. ‘The analysis of linguistic borrowing.’ Language, 26(2), 210231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landry, R. & Bourhis, R. Y. 1997. ‘Linguistic landscape and ethnolinguistic vitality: An empirical study.’ Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 16(1), 2349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, C. B. 2012. ‘The Korean English linguistic landscape.’ World Englishes, 31(1), 7092.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weinreich, U. 1953. Languages in Contact: Findings and Problems (6th edn.) New York: Mouton.Google Scholar