Language- becoming richer by borrowing !

Language is a living and growing phenomenon- always borrowing words from other languages and assimilating them. While the American English is known to be more flexible and open, the Queen’s English (UK) bound as it is in strict rules of grammar- is more considered more conservative and not so open to external influences. But Queen’s English has also evolved over the years or one could say centuries. From Chaucer to Shakespeare and in modern times, the changes that have taken place are too obvious to have escaped notice. One is amused to see the words like “ lathi charge ”,& “ hartal ” etc finding a place in the English dictionaries. The word “ juggernaut ” meaning chariot is clearly derived from “ Jagarnath “ or “ Jagannath ” another name for Lord Krishna or even Lord Vishnu .

Recently , we have the word “ moolah ”- a slang for money ; another word “ diva ” denoting a woman of exceptional talent , as far as fine arts are concerned , seems derived from “ Devi ” meaning a Goddess . Similarly the word “avatar” hitherto reserved for an incarnation or a manifestation of God in the Hindu pantheon , has acquired a wider meaning. The ubiquitous potato in a new recipe is said to have come in a new “avatar”. There may be examples of such usage galore. The Hindi words like Guru, Mantra and Jugaad have already been recognized all over the world and are frequently used in English text.