Language has evolved along with time and we have been increasingly incorporating new terms and definitions to our vocabulary. Furthermore, in a world so highly interconnected like that of today’s, words that are not in our language and even some that are made up have appeared in our day to day usage becoming part of our own language regardless of how “foreign” they really are to us.
But, should we be letting these words from other cultures, be part of our own language? Are these correct words? And are they even necessary? Because, after all, we perhaps have the equivalent but have have resorted to using what has become the “popular” terms.
Throughout the years the different language institutions have been progressively incorporating these terms and indeed for some words more than others, this have become useful. Some words we borrow from other cultures, because they simply do not exist in ours. However, among those words there are others that we have incorporated without much of a need…in Spanish for example, words like show, performance, link and email are now of common usage in English, and this in spite of the fact that these words have an equivalent in Spanish itself.
Borrowing words from other cultures is a product of the globalized world we live in now…However, when do we judge these words as unnecessary or incorrect? There’s a fine line and we must pay special care because while some terms can enrich our vocabulary, we may be in a different way, weakening the wholesomeness of our language.
