Food Words
Food words in any language have completely different origins, as some of them are were borrowed and became an integral part of its vocabulary when the need for them occurred. Moreover, the meaning of any word drifts with time, just like its pronunciation. Nevertheless, people have a chance to reconstruct the history of many food words, as the similarities between the vocabularies of different languages make the bond visible. For instance, English shares multiple food words with other European languages, as most of the basic food words used to denote traditional simple food are of Germain and, consequently, Indo-European origin. Words that sound like water, milk, and broth can be found across Europe in different languages and dialects.
Nevertheless, throughout its history, the English language enriched itself with numerous loanwords needed to explain new foods introduced to native English speakers. For instance, English has plenty of food words of Latin, French, Dutch, and Indian origin. Moreover, the English settled in various parts of the globe and adopted some of the existing names of local products and dishes. The meanings of some food words may diverge in different variants of the language. “Corn” is one of the best examples of the confusion a word can make due to its importance and complicated history in different parts of the globe. In the US, corn means maize, while in the UK it means wheat. Cider is also an excellent illustration of the meaning of drift, as in Britain, it means an alcoholic beverage, and in the US, it is just apple juice.
Numerous food words have fascinating etymologies which sometimes do not have any explanation. For instance, people in Russia and Ukraine use sparzha, which means both asparagus and tofu skin. Thus, it is better to focus on the words which have a vivid etymology. Comparing different names for food items in neighboring countries can also provide scholars with data on the influence one language had on another. This paper provides an analysis of the following food words: paprika, tea, and onion. The report also explains the difference between the origins of the words used to denote them.
Onion
It seems like onions have always been popular around the world. For instance, when the first European settlers took onions with them to America, they were surprised by the popularity of the product in Native American cuisine. Onions were initially valued not only for their flavor but also for the bulb’s durability that made an important product and a vital ingredient in numerous dishes. In some European countries, they often say that it is impossible to cook a tasty filling dish without onions.
In modern English, onion denotes any of the three major types of this vegetable (yellow onions, red onions, and white onions). The word originated from the Anglo-French word “union” which evolved from the Old French “oignon”. These words come from Latin “unity”, as the Romans appreciated the symbolic meaning of the onion layers forming something bigger together. Most European languages, however, use terms that originated directly from the Latin word for onion, “cepa” (cipolla in Italian, Zwiebel in German, cebula in Polish). In Scandinavian languages, løk and similar words of Germanic origin are used. Many languages borrowed the word more than 1,000 years ago. (luk in Serbian, Bulgarian, Russian, and some other Slavic languages). Such borrowings represent a rare heritage of the extensive and important trade network which used to exist in Eastern Europe.
Garlic is onion’s close relative, but the words used to denote it in different languages have unique etymologies. In most Romance languages, the word originates from Latin allium (aglio in Italian, ali in French). The English word garlic derives from two Germanic words meaning “spear” and “leek”. In German, the etymology is similar, as the word originated from two words, which used to mean “cleave” and “leek” in Proto-Germanic. Scandinavians use hvitløk and its variations, which mean “white onion”. Even though Slavic languages use different borrowings to denote onion, all of them use their variants of the Slavic word chesnok to denote garlic.
Paprika
The word paprika means a ground spice made from dried red fruits of sweeter varieties of the plant Capsicum annuum in modern English. The fruits, which paprika is made from resembling chili peppers, are also part of the Longum group. Nevertheless, in most European languages, the word paprika denotes not only the spice but also the plant and the fruit it is made from. Moreover, in some languages, paprika also means “bell pepper”. Bell pepper has many confusing names as well. For instance, Russians use both paprika and bolgarskiy perets (“Bulgarian pepper”). Most likely, they call it “Bulgarian pepper” because it was imported to the USSR from Bulgaria. The fact that Hungarians call that fruit bell paprika makes the issue even more confusing.
The fruit and the spice are both extremely popular in Hungary, although they were introduced to Central Europe only in the 15th century. The Mexican fruit was brought to Spain, then to the Balkans, and, finally, to Hungary. Hungarians enjoy their not-so-hot spice a lot and tend to add a spoon of the red powder to almost any dish. Moreover, the country’s cold climate makes the fruits retain the sugar, making it taste completely different from what one may expect from a fruit that looks like a chili pepper. That is why it is almost impossible to find hot varieties in modern Hungary. Benkhard and Halmai (2017) note that the country’s culinary offers include paprika-spiced dishes, typical of the last century peasant cuisine, the frequent use of sour cream, onions, and dishes close to international tastes of French impact. The spice is used in most Hungarian national dishes, such as goulash, a peasant dish that has evolved to become a vital national symbol alongside paprika.
Tea
It seems like tea has always been a part of British culture. Nevertheless, it used to be extremely expensive a few centuries ago when London already had plenty of coffee shops. Tea is strongly connected to its homeland, China, and the origins of its European names can be traced back to different regions of that country. It is not surprising, as tea used to be grown only there for centuries. Britain had to spend much time and resources on promoting tea farming outside of China (mainly, in India and Sri Lanka). According to Martin (2018), almost all European languages use one of the three variations of the original Chinese name for tea, which is represented by “茶” symbol. The pronunciation of the word is, however, completely different in various dialects and regions of China. In Mandarin, it is pronounced chá, while in Min Chinee, it is te. There are several theories concerning the variety of pronunciations of the word. Some of them suggest that there used to be multiple words for tea, and te just represents the evolution of one of the words.
In southern Fujian province, the word was pronounced as te; it was then borrowed by the Dutch during the earliest contacts between sailors from Europe and the Chinese. The English form “tea” (which means any type of drink made by pouring hot water over the leaves of Camellia sinensis) was, arguably, introduced by the Dutch. In modern Polish, Lithuanian, and Belarusian herbata/arbata/harbata are used. The term originated from herba thea in Latin but for some reason, retained only the first word.
Nevertheless, there were also other notable maritime routes to southern China. The Portuguese even managed to establish a trading post in Macau. They took the Cantonese pronunciation chàh and brought it into India and Europe. However, the Portuguese remain the only Europeans to use this form (chá). People in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, alongside most nations in the Middle East, use a third variant, chai. This pronunciation originated in Northern China, traveled to Persia, and got a Persian suffix -yi. In modern India, a local variety of tea with milk, masala chai, is extremely popular. Rosen (2015) explains that the drink is made by boiling black tea in a mix of water, milk, and numerous aromatic spices. In modern English, in general, the word chai is used to denote any black tea with sugar and a lot of steamed milk. Numerous coffeehouses around the globe use chai latte as the name for such a beverage.
References
Benkhard, B., & Halmai, M. (2017). Mouthful Hungary – Overview of Hungarian cuisine and culinary tourism. Geography and Tourism, 5(1), 41–54. Web.
Martin, L. C. (2018). A history of tea: The life and times of the world’s favorite beverage. Tuttle Publishing.
Rosen, D. (2015). Chai: The spice tea of India. Storey Publishing.