Englishisation refers to the introduction of English-language influences into other languages. English, as a world language, has had a very significant impact on other languages, with many languages borrowing words or grammar from English or forming calques based on English words.[1] Englishisation is often paired with the introduction of Western culture into other cultures,[2] and has resulted in a significant degree of code-mixing of English with other languages as well as the appearance of new varieties of English.[3][4] Other languages have also synthesised new literary genres through their contact with English,[5] and various forms of "language play" have emerged through this interaction.[6] Englishisation has also occurred in subtle ways because of the massive amount of English content that is translated into other languages.[7]
Englishisation first happened on a worldwide scale because of British imperialism and later American dominance, as the language historically played a major role in the administration of the British Empire and is highly relevant in the modern wave of globalisation.[8][9][10] One of the reasons for Englishisation is because other languages sometimes lacked vocabulary to talk about certain things, such as modern technologies or scientific concepts.[11] Another reason is that English is often considered a prestige language which symbolises or improves the educatedness or status of a speaker.[12]
Both Japanese and Korean have borrowed many words from English.[18] In Japan, English words are often used in a "decorative" manner to make a message look more modern.[19]
English has been accepted in South Asia to some extent because of its neutrality i.e. its lack of association with any ethnic group within South Asia. It has played a significant role in enabling migration within India, and contributes a major share of the vocabulary used in more technical fields;[20][21][22][23] even when Sanskrit words have been created to replace English words, they are often calqued off of English words.[24][25][26]
Some languages in Europe, such as some of the Scandinavian languages, have been prone to significant Englishisation, while other languages, such as Icelandic, have tended towards linguistic purism.[27] The similarity and long-standing history of English having connections with Western European languages has played a role in its modern-day influence on them,[28][29][30] and has resulted in altered interpretations of English words in some cases.[31] Englishisation has occurred to some extent particularly in the business and finance-related vocabularies of various European languages.[32] Some impacts of Englishisation have worn off over time, as Englishisation sometimes takes place in a way that is too "trendy" and which does not become well-absorbed into a given language.[33]
^van Rooy, Bertus (2020), Schreier, Daniel; Schneider, Edgar W.; Hundt, Marianne (eds.), "English in Africa", The Cambridge Handbook of World Englishes, Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 210–235, ISBN978-1-108-42595-7, retrieved 2024-05-01