The History of English Podcast Episode 146: A Brand New World
Mar 24, 2021
1492: Columbus encounters native people in the Americas and their language; European discovery of the Americas and its impact on English; Introduction of potatoes and tomatoes and their pronunciation evolution; Columbus's search for Japan and conflicts in Hispaniola; Journeys of European explorers, Portuguese colonies in Brazil, and influence of cocoa; Historical usage of 'Columbia' and naming of America; Impact of discovery on world history: cultural exchanges, African slaves, and global spread of goods and ideas.
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New Words From Arawakan Contact
- Columbus's voyages initiated linguistic borrowing as Europeans adopted many Arawakan words through Spanish into English.
- Words like canoe, tobacco, barbecue, maize, potato and hammock entered English via this contact.
First Encounters And Miscommunication
- On 12 October 1492 Columbus landed in the Bahamas and met Taino people who spoke an Arawakan dialect.
- He took some natives to Spain to learn Spanish and serve as interpreters on later voyages.
Miscommunication Shaped Place Names
- Frequent miscommunication led Europeans to wrongly infer local geography and resources.
- Examples include the Yucatan name myth and Columbus misreading native directions as gold deposits.
