Today we're looking at some of the other influences on English, including the Vikings and Indian and African languages. English really is an international language and it is still evolving today, especially with the development of the internet and technology.
If you're interested in some of the vocabulary I mentioned you can find lists of vocabulary from those countries in the links on the blog. I've also included links to information about Viking windows and the Doomsday book and 1066.
Links for Content References
Viking Words
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/139-norse-words
Words from India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Indian_origin
Words from Africa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Niger-Congo_origin
https://www.britannica.com/art/Bantu-languages
Article about Viking Windows
https://www.archaeology.org/news/11788-231010-vikings-glass-windows
Things that happened in 1066 in the UK
Doomsday Book
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/domesday-book/
Vocabulary
sidetracked - to get distracted
got a little carried away - to get over excited
purloin - to steal something
the list is long and distinguished - this is a Pop Culture reference to a line from the character Goose in the movie TopGun. Distinguished means in this sense means very successful.
batches - small groups
comparatively - comparing one thing to another
slaving - Vikings were known to capture, use and sell slaves pretty much anywhere they went. In those days being enslaved had nothing to do with what colour you were or where you came from, you just got unlucky to be caught by them!
survey - a piece of research asking people a range of questions
berserk - to go crazy
ransack - to search a house in an untidy way
havoc - to cause chaos
slaughter - to kill something or someone
side note - a phrase we can use to alert someone that this information is connected but not necessarily relevant to the current topic.
took to the seas - took to (or take to) phrasal verb - to start doing something or start traveling in a certain way
co-opted - to take something that belongs to someone else and start using it ourselves in our own way
by extension the UK - one thing is connected to another
Nor - an older version of 'neither' often used to make a point stronger.
