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From: markrose@spss.com (Mark Rosenfelder)
Subject: Re: Russian words in English
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Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 23:09:56 GMT
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In article <38jrvg$ln7@news.asu.edu>,  <tarchon@imap2.asu.edu> wrote:
>Does anyone else think it's a bit useless to go listing piles of words
>used to describe elements of foreign cultures as part of the English
>language, particularly when their forms are merely Romanized forms of the
>original word? I mean any book on the culture of country X is going to
>have to use native words to describe particular things and ideas.  Does
>that really make them English words?  

Generally there's something of a scale of acceptance: nonce references to
foreign words, perceived as foreign; foreign words widely known even to 
monolingual speakers, but still considered a bit 'tainted' (often marked
in writing by italicizing); words whose foreign origin is remembered, but
treated like native ones (and no longer italicized); words whose foreign
origin is quite forgotten.  I'd consider all but the first category
"English words".

>By this extended definition of the English lexicon, we might as well just 
>lump the languages of the world together and call them one.  

Rather a straw man, don't you think?  All the words on my list could be
found in a good *English* dictionary.  If they offend your sense of
ethnic purity, too bad.

>When's the last time you used "pravda" in English to denote anything
>but a Russian newspaper?

I've seen it used for 'truth'-- in a Pogo comic, for instance.  
