The English language does not only include words with origins outside of the British Isles, such as restaurant or bungalow, but also uses “foreign” words or even complete expressions in their original language in certain situations. A few examples:
De facto (Latin), meaning in fact. Used legally to express that someone or something is in fact in a certain position even though there may be no official recognition.
Example; No one had expressed an opinion regarding organisation but he became their de facto leader.
Double entendre (French), meaning with a double meaning, often referring to wordplay and/or jokes.
Example; This writer is a master of the double entendre.
Al fresco (Italian), meaning in the open air.
Example; Let’s make the most of the long summer evenings and eat al fresco tomorrow.
Bête noire (French), meaning black beast, refers to a special hate for something/someone.
Example; Bureaucracy was his personal bête noire, as he hated red tape.
Laissez faire (French), meaning let things be - that is, something is allowed to run its free course without exterior control or interference. Often used in economics and politics.
Example; The government had a very laissez faire policy towards immigration.
Bé per les instruccions o consells. Una mica de barreja sempre és bona.
ResponEliminaOlga Xirinacs
Gràcies. Continuarem entrecalant aquells petits consells/informacions al bloc, tantes coses que explicar i tan poc temps per dir-ho...!
ResponEliminaI'm loving reading your posts.
ResponEliminaThanks, we try to include a bit of everything, some language tips for Catalans learning English (or English speakers themselves!), Catalan and English news curiosities relating to language issues, a bit of literature and poetry, in general a "light" mix of languages ... this is the serious blog - my own more light-hearted one is at Tannu Tuva where I deal with my other obsession, music!
ResponEliminaThanks for visiting and leaving a comment :)