Non-Indo-European Words in English Quiz

Answer: Hungarian

We know that goulash and paprika are Hungarian foods. Coach passes through German and French from the original Hungarian Kocs, a town in northwest Hungary where a certain type of carriage was made.

Answer: Japanese

Also from Japanese come samurai, haiku, kimono, and lots of others.

Answer: Algonquian

Algonquian languages would include several Native American tongues, such as Cree, Micmac, Ojibway, Massachusett, and Illinois. Ironically, the word "Eskimo" does not come to us from an Inuit language. But this is very common among names for Native American tribes.

A large majority of the terms we use for various peoples come into English from other tribes, often even including traditional enemies.

Answer: Chinese

Silk is an example of a word which a dictionary would show coming to English through other Indo-European languages, like Old English sioloc, and going back to the Greek serikon, or, as another dictionary says, back to the Old Slavic shelku. But where do you suppose the Greeks or Old Slavs got the word for this material? I'm thinking from where the material originated.

But my original source said it came originally from the Chinese, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Answer: Tibetan

The yeti may be harder to find than a yak or a lama. The yeti is, of course, also known as the abominable snowman.

Answer: Nahuatl

Yes, the Aztecs spoke Nahuatl. Quechua is the language of the Inca Empire of South America. Tungus is a language spoken in northern Asia.

Answer: Quechua

"Inca," by the way, is the name of the ruler of the Andean Empire, not the people, really, who are the Quechuas. Their empire, like all empires, contained several peoples. The Inca also ruled Chancas, Chimorans, and Machupa tribes.

Answer: Basque

Basques, who call themselves Euskara, originated in northwestern Spain and southwestern France. The language is classified as a language isolate, meaning it has no related languages. My dictionary says bizarre is from the Basque "bizar," meaning beard. Actually, Romani, the language of the so-called Gypsies, is an Indo-Aryan, or Indo-European language.

Answer: Arabic

Many words that begin with "al" come from Arabic, such as alcove, alchemy, and algebra, thanks to the influence Arabic culture had on medieval Europe. Interestingly, "assassin" comes to us from the Arabic word "hashish."

Answer: Malay

Modern Malaysian culture is strongly influenced by many others, including Chinese, Indian, Persian, Arab, and European. Thankfully, the Malay language has also give us such colorful and useful words. Another Malay word is orangutan.