What are loanwords?

The number of loanwords in the English language is unusually large. English vocabulary borrows heavily from other languages, particularly Latin, Greek and French. See below for how this reliance on foreign words evolved.

Loanwords are an important feature of English. They do not, however, affect the structure of the language. An English speaker may use the word ballet but he will not say a dancer of ballet‚ as you would in French.

A few imported terms retain their original syntax. The United Nations has a secretary general while the chief officer of the English legal system is the attorney general. But these are rare exceptions.

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