NEW WORLD WORDS AND THINGS IN THE OLD WORLD: HOW THE AMERICAS CONQUERED THE WORLD

Abstract

What would world cuisine be without New World ingredients? What would pizza be without tomatoes, oriental food without chili, and Spanish omelette or kluski śląskie without potatoes? How would vanilla ice cream taste without vanilla? And what would movie nights be without popcorn and life without chocolate? New World products have enriched the lives of people globally for the past half a millennium, but how did all this happen? How did chili travel to Asia? And why is turkey called turkey in English, hindi in Turkish, peru in Portuguese, and “Roman chicken” in Arabic? This article explores the ongoing conquest of the world by New World words and things, tracing their origins and travel routes, as well as the ever-changing nature of indigenous American loanwords in the languages of the world, including school children’s perceptions of these words: why is ocelot a “Minecraft cat,” an anorak a “fine jacket,” and a tomahaw a “tactical intercontinental missile”?