Indian linguistic influence on other colonial powers

Thande

Donor
The British trade with and colonisation of India led to a significant linguistic input into English (especially British English, as much of this happened after the ARW) from the Indian languages, primarily Hindi and Urdu.

A few examples of such words include-

Pyjamas from pai jamahs, originally from Mysore

Bungalow from bungale (Hindi meaning 'a Bengali', i.e. a house built in the Bengali style)

Khaki from the Persian word khak for ash, via Urdu

Jodhpurs, after the city

Juggernaut, after the city/chariot

Doolally, from Deolali (an Army transit camp at which British soldiers got cabin fever, hence it carrying the meaning of going crazy)



So, we've all seen TLs where India gets colonised by another major power instead - France, Portugal, the Netherlands, whoever. What might such words (or any others you can suggest) look like if they had been transliterated into those different European languages?
 
Well, the first three you've written were incorporated into Portuguese through the English: pijama, bangalô and caqui.

Directly from India I can only remember now "varanda" (English: balcony) that came from baramdah and "nababo" (very rich and important person) from nawab.
 
Well, the first three you've written were incorporated into Portuguese through the English: pijama, bangalô and caqui.

Directly from India I can only remember now "varanda" (English: balcony) that came from baramdah and "nababo" (very rich and important person) from nawab.
Not that Scandinavia, or any part of it, could pull off colonisating India, but the first three words was, indeed introduced via English.
Spelled more like the English versions then the Portuguese does, though.

And veranda does seem to come from... Portugal? Now that was something I wouldn't have expected, even if it was only via Portugal!
 
And veranda does seem to come from... Portugal? Now that was something I wouldn't have expected, even if it was only via Portugal!

You haven't expected? But the exportation of Indian balconies to Scandinavia was one of the major sources of money income to Portugal!:D
 

Thande

Donor
Directly from India I can only remember now "varanda" (English: balcony) that came from baramdah and "nababo" (very rich and important person) from nawab.

We have 'verandah' as well, and as for the second one, are you sure that's not from nabob rather than nawab?
 
We have 'verandah' as well, and as for the second one, are you sure that's not from nabob rather than nawab?

I think this one is direct from India. I'll try to check it, but I believe it's an ancient word in Portuguese.
 

Leo Caesius

Banned
The only other word I can think of is 'mogul', coming from the Mughal Empire's name.
There are plenty, actually, and they are also in American English.

Foods:
Jackfruit
Mango
Curry
Sugar (ultimately, but through a very circuituitous process)
Ginger (ditto)
Candy (ditto)
Masala
Chutney
Kedgeree

Other trade goods:
Shampoo
Musk
Teak
Copra and coir
Cheroot
Indigo

Clothes and Textiles:
Saree
Dungaree
Bandana
Bangle
Cummerbund
Jute
Cashmere
Chintz
Gunny

Architecture:
Palanquins
Pagodas

Animals:
Calico (from Calicut)
Mongoose
Dhole
Bandicoot
Anaconda
Cheetah

Socio-Religious terms:
Karma
Dharma
Chakra
Yoga
Mantra
Mandala
Pundit
Guru
Nirvana
Suttee
Sutra
Pariah
Purdah
Juggernaut

What else? Tandoor ovens, the game polo, swastikas, dinghies, looting, and so on... although tandoor is probably from Akkadian originally. I'm not even counting most of the Persian words that passed into English through Hindi/Urdu, like mint juleps, perfect for sipping on the veranda.
 

Keenir

Banned
The British trade with and colonisation of India led to a significant linguistic input into English (especially British English, as much of this happened after the ARW) from the Indian languages, primarily Hindi and Urdu.

is it true that "thug" came from "thuggee"...or is that a myth founded on coincidence? (like English "no" and Japanese "noh")
 
is it true that "thug" came from "thuggee"...or is that a myth founded on coincidence? (like English "no" and Japanese "noh")

It's the British who called the thuggees thuggees because the British saw them as thugs. Kinda like how the "Boxers" ended with that name. Neither called themselves with those words.
 

Hendryk

Banned
So, we've all seen TLs where India gets colonised by another major power instead - France, Portugal, the Netherlands, whoever. What might such words (or any others you can suggest) look like if they had been transliterated into those different European languages?
Interesting question. One just need count the words of Arabic origin that have entered the French lexicon due to our protracted colonial presence in the Arab world to realize a similar process would certainly take place with Indian words.

Pyjama (singular), kaki (sans h) and bungalow are also used in French, so one can suppose they'd be among the words picked up by alternate French colonial overlords in India; they might be spelled respectively pijama, cacqui and bengaleau. Juggernaut would become juguenaute, jodhpur jodepure and doolally doulalie. Oh, and don't forget cashmere, which we spell cachemire.

Incidentally, the word "mandarin" also comes from India--it's from Sanskrit mantrin (minister), which became mantari in Malay, where the Portuguese picked it up and turned it into mandarim, which they used to refer to Chinese officials after arriving in Macau. Another Indian word that went east is "bund", as in the Bund, Shanghai's riverside promenade. Obviously, both words are only used by Westerners and not by the Chinese themselves.
 

MrP

Banned
Hm, this thread raises interesting questions about which Native American words will end up in English in LttW.
 

Hendryk

Banned
Hm, this thread raises interesting questions about which Native American words will end up in English in LttW.
Not to mention African words, since the British colonization of Africa begins earlier, along different lines, and in different regions from OTL.

Some words that the French picked up in West-Central Africa in OTL are boubou (a type of long flowing robe), bougnoul (originally meaning black, it later became a derogatory word for Arab), and one often used by my parents, niama-niama (finger food).
 

Thande

Donor
Pyjama (singular), kaki (sans h) and bungalow are also used in French, so one can suppose they'd be among the words picked up by alternate French colonial overlords in India; they might be spelled respectively pijama, cacqui and bengaleau. Juggernaut would become juguenaute, jodhpur jodepure and doolally doulalie. Oh, and don't forget cashmere, which we spell cachemire.

Some words that the French picked up in West-Central Africa in OTL are boubou (a type of long flowing robe), bougnoul (originally meaning black, it later became a derogatory word for Arab), and one often used by my parents, niama-niama (finger food).

Thanks for those; as you've probably guessed, this is "research for my TL disguised as a WI thread #39236832" ;)
 
So, we've all seen TLs where India gets colonised by another major power instead - France, Portugal, the Netherlands, whoever. What might such words (or any others you can suggest) look like if they had been transliterated into those different European languages?

Interesting question, but difficult to answer, as I do not know how the words sound in their original form. I could give you transliterations for the words you mentioned in Dutch, but those would merely reflect the way the words now sound to a Dutchman after first having been filtered through the English language.

If they had passed directly into Dutch the result would probably be different: Dutch has more vowels/diphtongs than English, and if any of such vowels not occurring in English did occur in the original Indian languages, Dutchmen would have picked them up. Then again, some sounds such as the English 'th' or the 'g' as in 'gamma' do not exist in Dutch, so if these would have occurred, they would not have been copied, but would have mutated into sounds that sound similar to Dutch ears.
 

Thande

Donor
If they had passed directly into Dutch the result would probably be different: Dutch has more vowels/diphtongs than English, and if any of such vowels not occurring in English did occur in the original Indian languages, Dutchmen would have picked them up. Then again, some sounds such as the English 'th' or the 'g' as in 'gamma' do not exist in Dutch, so if these would have occurred, they would not have been copied, but would have mutated into sounds that sound similar to Dutch ears.
Many Indian languages do use those letters, so the result would be quite interesting...
 
Thanks for those; as you've probably guessed, this is "research for my TL disguised as a WI thread #39236832" ;)

Aha! I've had a deep suspicion, but now you've confirmed it! :D

Btw, what language would the Nuffink Empire speak? :)p)
 
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