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Pseudo-anglicism
Non-English word that appears to be English From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A pseudo-anglicism is a word in another language that is formed from English elements and may appear to be English, but that does not exist as an English word with the same meaning.[1][2][3][4][5]
For example, English speakers traveling in France may be struck by the "number of anglicisms—or rather words that look English—which are used in a different sense than they have in English, or which do not exist in English (such as rallye-paper, shake-hand, baby-foot, or baby-parc)".[6]
This is different from a false friend, which is a word with a cognate that has a different main meaning; in some cases, pseudo-anglicisms become false friends.[7]
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Definition and terminology
Pseudo-anglicisms are also called secondary anglicisms,[8] false anglicisms,[9] or pseudo-English.[10]
Pseudo-anglicisms are a kind of lexical borrowing where the source or donor language is English, but where the borrowing is reworked in the receptor or recipient language.[11][12]
The precise definition varies. Duckworth defines pseudo-anglicisms in German as "neologisms derived from English language material."[11][13] Furiassi includes words that may exist in English with a "conspicuously different meaning".[14]
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Typology and mechanism
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Perspective
Pseudo-anglicisms can be created in various ways, such as by archaism, i.e., words that once had that meaning in English but are since abandoned; semantic slide, where an English word is used incorrectly to mean something else; conversion of existing words from one part of speech to another; or recombinations by reshuffling English units.[15]
Onysko speaks of two types: pseudo-anglicisms and hybrid anglicisms. The common factor is that each type represents a neologism in the receptor language resulting from a combination of borrowed lexical items from English. Using German as the receptor language, an example of the first type is Wellfit-Bar, a combination of two English lexical units to form a new term in German, which does not exist in English, and which carries the meaning, "a bar that caters to the needs of health-starved people." An example of the second type, is a hybrid based on a German compound word, Weitsprung (long jump), plus the English 'coach', to create the new German word Weitsprung-Coach.[11]
According to Filipović, pseudo-anglicisms can be formed through compounding, suffixation, or ellipsis. For example, the Serbo-Croatian word голман, golman was created from the English word goal, which the word man was added to. Alternatively, suffixes such as -ер, -er or -ист(а), -ist(a) may be added to an English word to create a new word in Serbo-Croatian, such as тенисер, teniser or ватерполист(а), vaterpolist(a). Ellipsis may also occur, wherein a component of an English word is dropped, such as the suffix -ing; examples include бокс, boks from boxing, or хепиенд, hepiend from happy ending.[16]
Another process of word formation that can result in a pseudo-anglicism is a blend word, consisting of portions of two words, like brunch or smog. Rey-Debove & Gagnon attest tansad in French in 1919, from English tan[dem] + sad[dle].[17]
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Scope
Pseudo-anglicisms can be found in many languages that have contact with English around the world, and are attested in nearly all European languages.[18]
The equivalent of pseudo-anglicisms derived from languages other than English also exist. For example, the English-language phrase "double entendre", while often believed to be French and pronounced in a French fashion, is not actually used in French. For other examples, see dog Latin, list of pseudo-French words adapted to English, and list of pseudo-German words adapted to English.
Examples
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Many languages
Some pseudo-anglicisms are found in many languages and have been characterized as "world-wide pseudo-English",[19] often borrowed via other languages such as French or Italian:[20]
- autostop – hitchhiking in French,[21] Italian,[22] Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Greek οτοστόπ,[23] Russian автостоп, Spanish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian, etc.[24]
- basket – basketball in Danish, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish, Swedish,[25] Greek μπάσκετ,[23] Turkish, etc.;[24] also sneakers in French
- camping – campsite or campground in French,[21] Dutch, Greek κάμπινγκ,[23] Bulgarian къмпинг,[26] Russian ке́мпинг,[27] Polish kemping,[28] Portuguese,[29] Spanish, etc.
- smoking – dinner jacket, tuxedo, or smoking jacket in Danish,[30] French,[21] Portuguese,[31] German,[32] Italian,[33] Dutch, Greek σμόκιν,[23] Russian, etc.[24]
Korean
Romance
French
French includes many pseudo-anglicisms, including novel compounds (baby-foot), specifically compounds in -man (tennisman), truncations (foot), places in -ing (dancing meaning dancing-place, not the act of dancing), and a large variety of meaning shifts.[37]
- baby-foot[38] (m, pronounced [ba.bi.fut]) – table football
- baby-parc[38] – playpen
- before – drinks in privileged company before a party, a.k.a. "pregame" (opposite of after)
- blind test – music quiz / 'name that tune'
- brushing – blow-dry and styling[39][40]
- building – high-rise building, tower block[39][21]
- box – wifi router or parking space[37]
- dancing – dance hall[37]
- dressing (noun) - walk-in closet
- flirt – a brief romance, flirtation, a boyfriend or girlfriend[21]
- footing – jogging (though the real English word is also used in French with the same meaning)
- pressing – dry cleaning shop,
- rallye-paper[38] – a "fox-and-hounds" like game, except with paper scraps instead of foxes[41]
- recordman (m; pl: recordmans; f:recordwoman) – record holder, especially in sports
- relooker (verb) to make over; also: relooking (n; masc.) – a makeover
- scratch (noun) - velcro
- shake-hand[38]
- speaker, speakerine (feminine) – radio or television announcer[37]
- wheeling – a wheelie
Italian
- autogrill (Italian pronunciation: [autoˈɡril])[42] – rest area (used for any brand, not only for Autogrill chain)
- beauty farm[43] (Italian pronunciation: [bjutiˈfarm]) – spa
- The French borrowing bloc-notes (French pronunciation: [blɔknɔt]) is sometimes written in the pseudo-English form block-notes (Italian pronunciation: [blɔkˈnɔts])[44] – notebook
- jolly – the joker in a pack of cards[39][45]
- pullman – a bus[46]
- smart working Italian pronunciation: [zmartˈworking] – remote work, where "smart" is used referring to other devices with an Internet connection, such as smartphones and smartwatches.
- water (Italian pronunciation: [vater]) - flush toilet (from English water closet)
Portuguese
- outdoor – billboard[47]
- home office - work from home[48]
- shopping - shopping mall[49]
Germanic
Danish
- babylift – baby transport/carrycot[50][39]
- butterfly – bow tie[51]
- cottoncoat – trench coat[52]
- cowboytoast – minced meat sandwich[53]
- doorstep – a short and informal press conference[54]
- monkeyclass – economy class[55]
- speedmarker – a felt-tip pen[56]
- stationcar – blend of station wagon (US) and estate car (UK)[57]
- timemanager – a calendar or notebook in which one writes down appointments (from the registered trademark Time Manager)[58]
Dutch
- beamer – a video projector (via German pseudo-anglicism Beamer)[59][better source needed]
- box – a playpen[60] or a music speaker
- coffeeshop - a shop selling cannabis
- keycord – a lanyard
- oldtimer – a classic car
- touringcar – a coach (bus)
- videoclip – a music video
German
German pseudo anglicisms often have multiple valid and common ways of writing them, generally either hyphenated (Home-Office) or in one word (Homeoffice).[61]
German speakers, especially teachers, often refer to pseudo-anglicisms as false friends, a translation of the German term that may itself count as a pseudo anglicism.[62]
- Beamer – a video projector[63]
- Bodybag – a messenger bag
- Dressman – a male model (Onysko calls this the 'canonical example' of a pseudo-anglicism.[11])
- Flipper – a pinball machine[64]
- Funsport – a sport played for amusement, such as skateboarding or frisbee[39][65]
- Handy – a mobile phone[66]
- Jobticket – a free pass for public transport provided by an employer for employees[67]
- Oldtimer – an antique car[39]
- Shooting – a photoshoot[64]
- trampen (verb) – hitchhiking[68]
- mobbing – bullying
Norwegian
- hands – the offence of handball in association football[69]
- sixpence – Flat cap[70]
Swedish
Slavic
Serbian
- бос, bos – crime boss[76]
- букмејкер, bukmejker – a person who bets, especially on sports and other competitions[76]
- голман, golman – goalkeeper[77]
- хепиенд, hepiend – happy ending[77]
- олдтајмер, oldtajmer – classic car[78]
- стреч, streč – stretch fabric[76]
Polish
Russian
- Дресс-кроссинг ("Dress crossing") – clothing swap[80] (analogous to postcrossing, bookcrossing); not to be confused with cross-dressing
- Клипмейкер ("Clip maker") – music video director[81]
- Митинг ("meeting") – rally, demonstration
- Рекордсмен ("records man") – record holder
- Страйкбол ("strikeball")[82][83] – airsoft
- Фейсконтроль ("Face control") – the policy of screening people based on their appearance[citation needed]
Austronesian
Malaysian Malay
Indonesian
- busway – TransJakarta bus; bus rapid transit[87]
- cross boy/girl – delinquent person[88]
- free sex – extramarital sex[89]
- hand body – hand & body lotion[90]
- handphone – mobile phone[88]
- healing – going on a vacation to heal mentally[91]
- magic com – multifunctional rice cooker[92]
- outbound – outdoor education or recreational activities[88]
- sorry-dorry-morry-strawberry – sorry not sorry; sorry[93]
- sound – sound reinforcement system[94]
- travel – inter-regional minibus service [95]
- win-win solution – win-win situation; win-win conflict resolution [96]
Other languages
Maltese
- goaler – goalkeeper[97]
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See also
References
Sources
Further reading
External links
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