I’m in a new city today.
And when I’m in a new city, I take a free walking tour.
While museums and travel books can be dry and dull, full of facts and names you don’t care about and won’t remember, on a walking tour you get all kinds of interesting stories.
For example…
Borrowed Words
Most English words are not from England.
We took a lot of our words from other languages.
And what’s the one word we took from the Finnish language?
Sauna!
Sauna Fun Facts
Did you know…
The Finns love saunas.
There are more saunas than cars in Finland.
There’s a sauna in a Burger King, in the university library, and sometimes, according to the tour guide, a company will welcome a new employee in the company sauna.
In a world that’s looking and sounding and tasting more and more like America every day, it’s nice to find these local differences.
Next time you travel, take a free walking tour — in English!
kocsi – coach, huszár – hussar
Welcome to Helsinki! It’s a little rainy day but I hope you enjoy your time.
Hey, I‘m from Germany. There is a word, for which there is no translation in English: Kindergarten. But why is it so, what’s the reason? Why don’t exist this word in English? I think, children in England or America also go in the Kindergarten before they go to school, isn’t it?
Isn’t it pre-school? Or .. kindergarden I used a lot during convesations with US folks
What about ‘nursery’? Isn’t it the same as kindergarten?
I know that nursery it is for smaller children , more like for infancy , kindergarten is later
I know that it depends on age of kid
Yes, this word “kindergarten” used during my childhood in Srilanka ( ancient: Ceylon- a British Colony) It was in 1959, 60ies.
Instead modern use Nursery School.
Yes, I know, it’s WEEKEND , a word that we all love it.
Have fun!
Well I suppose ROBOT is from our language(czech) and it’s widely used.
Supermarket,
Hey, I am from Greece, there are plenty of Greek words that entered English language, especially Science language. In the past, a politician made a speech in English language using only Greek words to underline that.
Hi! The word ‘biro-pan’ was named after László Bíró, the Hungarian inventor of the ballpoint pen.
vampire, Serbian “vampir”
paprika, Serbian paprika
There are 28 Serbian words in English language.
I think that paprika isn’t Serbian word. We took it from English, maybe German, I am not sure. But ‘slava’ and ‘uvala’ are Serbian words for sure.
In Polish we say papryka but probably, according to Internet, the word paprika originates from Hungary because accent of the word but paprika was cultivated in America, By the way chili pepper I associate with Chile …
There was a movie called Armagedon. This name is taken from Hebrew. The translation of this is mountain that called magido.
“Armagedon” is not Hebrew.
Hi my teacher! I don’t know which English words come from Romanian! I only know that there are many words identical in spelling and meaning in the two languages.
I don’t know “which one” took them? It’s something like – which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Anyway, I am more and more glad that I know and remember many new words learned in the course with you.
Thank you very much. Have nice days in Finland! and now good night! I hope you don’t have a sauna in your bedroom!👍😍.
Regards, Flora
I think one word may be: weekend
Good evening.
I’m from Italy, there are a word whic there are not translation in Englisn: Piano, zucchini (only USA), opera.i
Most of English words enterd in my Romanian language!
Word “saun” also exists in Estonian (even smoke sauna), but of course in Finland it is more important thing!
As Jakub wrote – robot is from Czech, as well as pistol and dollar, but those changed the way of spelling.
Hey, I”m from Helsinki/ Espoo.
Espoo bjutif. place.Welcome.
Antique, idol, dialogue, geography, grammar, architect, economy, encyclopaedia, telephone, microscope, are some of Greek loans to English. And of course all the words start from ph-
I.e. philosophy
A lot of Italian food for example spaghetti, pizza, capuccino, carbonara, strudel, ecc
Good morning. I’m from Athens, Greece. Dilemma is a word from the greek language.
Sauna nav angļu vārds aizgūts no somiem, sauna jau ir internacionāls vārds, jo visās valodās, ja runa iet par somu pirtī sāka “sauna”☝️🤣
“Perestroyka” is the word that M.Gorbachev has entered in politics and it became an international term meaning new way to democracy, changes in economic, political and social life
Hello! Nice to have you in Finland! Enjoy being in Helsinki! By the way, how to say in English traditional greeting for sauna visiting? Enjoy Your Bath? But it is not a bath… Have good steam?
Have you already visited a sauna? I wish you a good steam!
In Lithuanian we say ,,Thank you for a heat” by finishing sauna visiting.
Hamburger it is not an English word but an German word
ΚΟΣΜΟΣ – COSMOS GREEK – ENGLISH
A lot of scientific words,like geometry, mathematics, chemistry, cardiology, pathology , are becoming from Greek language.
eugene
“Jungle” taken from Urdu language
Anatomy, pathology, stomach and many other medical words, tele-phone (the word tele means comunication from distant)
Halo Mr. Vig, have you good time in Helsinki😁
Thanks!
As far as I know, Paprika is a Hungarian loanword.
We use every time parking or sandwich.
workholik, víkend, roastbeef
antibiotikum-affer-affér,
Hi !
In Romanian there are three words that cannot translated.
1.DOR
2.DOINĂ
3.COLIND
There are several words that came from Russian to English :
Vodka
Kvass
Borscht
Sable
Mammoth
I know only one word from Czech which is used in English and a lot of different languages: ROBOT.
– It was created by writer Karel Čapek from the old Czech word: robota – which was a duty of free work the subjects were oblige to do for their masters (aristocracy).
Pizza, opera, curriculum, espresso, pasta, propaganda.
I’m from Russia, and I wondered what Russian wordsxare in English. It is curious, but very sad what I encountered: Balaklava, gulag, knout, Molotov cocktail, pogrom, Soviet, tzar. All these words are related to the violence, crime and punishment (knout, gulag). The worse words ever.
Bravo!…is Italian word
I guess, from Russian language- Sputnik, Vodka?!
I am Greek. More than one third of the English vocabulary comes from Greece.
This is an amazing point.
I have never think about, also i have no idea
about transferred words to English instead there are very common style if speeking call Singlish( slang mixed Sinhala & English).
Otherwise Sinhala has rich heritage of Sanskrit.Too some Indu-Iranian influences.
I’m talking about my original language, which is Sinhalese.
Stomach is a word in Macedonia that is also used in England
Algebra from Arabic