Most English words come from Latin, Germanic languages and French. But, in the last several hundred years, English has borrowed words and terms from other languages, such as Japanese.
Emoji - Let’s start with emoji. About 10 years ago, English speakers used the word emoticons for computer keyboard symbols that express emotion in electronic messages and on the Internet. That was before the invention of smiley face icons.
Then, in the late 1990s, a Japanese computer programmer named Shigetaku Kurita changed everything when he invented emoji -- images, icons and symbols that express meaning without words.
In Japanese, the word emoji means “pictograph” and comes from the word e meaning “picture” and moji, meaning “letter” or “character.” The similarity to the English word “emotion” is only by chance.
Honcho - Honcho, another word borrowed from Japanese, came into use around World War II.
In English, honcho means "person in charge.” In Japanese, the word is hancho. It means " squad leader" and comes from two words: han meaning “squad" and cho meaning "head" or "chief."
Imprisoned American servicemen in Japan learned about the word. Later, they brought it back with them to the United States.
Tycoon - Another borrowed Japanese word that describes someone who holds a lot of power is tycoon. In English, the word refers to a very wealthy and powerful businessperson.
Tycoon comes from the Japanese taikun meaning “great lord or prince.” The word comes from the Middle Chinese word tai kiun.
In the mid-1800s, the United States was ready to use military power to force Japan to re-open trade relations with the West. Navy officer Commodore Matthew Perry led the negotiations. When he arrived in Japan, he refused to meet with anyone other than the highest official in the empire.
The Japanese presented Perry with their shogun, or general of the Japanese army. But they were concerned that the English translation of his title would not seem powerful enough to Perry. So, they introduced their shogun using the title taikun.
What Perry – or the West – did not realize was that shoguns had more power than emperors in Japan at the time.
Perry’s negotiations with Japan were successful. And the word tycoon soon became popular in America. It came to mean “top leader.”
