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Barbecues, booze and bungalows: The English words that aren't really English at all

Tea - that famous British pastime - originates from Chinese via the Dutch who in turn found the word from the Malay language

The English are known for their love of tea, marmalade and the odd parka or two - but did you know that these words, along with barbecue, booze and bungalow originate from overseas?

A new exhibition looks at the words that English has absorbed from other languages, reflecting the many countries and cultures with which it has come into contact throughout history.

For example Australia and Mexico can lay claim to the words budgerigar and tomato respectively.



Tea - the famous British pastime - originates from Chinese via the Dutch.

Another word derived from the Dutch language is booze - which means 'to drink to excess' - while cider originates from the Middle East.

And despite the urban myth that the word bungalow was coined when a builder was told to 'bung a low roof' on a property after running out of bricks, the word actually comes from the Bengal region of India, where it was used to denote one-storey homes built for early European immigrants. It originally meant "belonging to Bengal".

'The English Effect', created by the British Council,  seeks to explore the power, impact and value of the English language around the world.

The British Council has selected its favourite words with overseas origins and dollar tops the list. Stemming from the German word 'Taler' the 'dollar' appears in the English language from the mid-1500s. Booze and bungalow completes the council's top three.

John Worne, director of strategy at the British Council, said: "Many of our most popular and evocative English words - words we couldn't live without - came from other countries and cultures."

The 'English Effect' exhibition runs from today until June 29, at the British Council's London headquarters.

Yahoo!'s top ten:

Zombie: From West African languages used during the slave trade

Vampire
: Originates in Eastern Europe, where Dracula - the most notorious of vampires - is said to have come from. The word is found in English in the early 1700s.

Barbecue
: Comes from the Spanish in the 1600s. It may derive from the Arawak (an indigenous Carribbean language) word 'barbacoa', meaning 'wooden frame on posts'.

Shampoo
: From the Hindi verb 'to press'. The word entered English in the mid-1700s as a result of increasing British involvement in South Asia. It evolved into "wash the head".

Honcho
: From the Japanese word 'hancho' meaning 'group leader', first found in U.S. English in the late 1940s.

Tomato
: From Nahuatl, an Aztec language. It was first adopted into Spanish after its conquest of the Aztec empire and found in the English language in the 1600s.

Marmalade
: A quince jelly from Portugal, found in the English language in the late 1400s.

Skirt
: Borrowed from the language of Scandinavian invaders in Anglo-Saxon England.

Magazine
: Originates from Arabic, in which makzin means 'storehouse' - i.e. ammunition in the army or information stored in print.

Parka
: Of Russian origin. It refers to the Nenets people of the Artic regions of the country who wore a type of jacket made of animal skins.