Since English is spoken so widely across the world, its vocabulary is astonishingly varied. Many foods have different names, and many food names have different meanings in Britain and the United States. A good example is ‘Ciral’ which is apple juice in the United States while it is an alcoholic drink in Britain. Another good example is ‘Corn’ which is maize in the United States and wheat in Britain. The spice called ‘Turmeric’ in Britain and the United States is known in South Africa as ‘borrie’ (a loan from Malay by way of Afrikaans). The European spice known in Britain as ‘coriander’ is called in Indian English ‘dhunia’ or ‘dhania’ ; in the United States the fruit is called ‘coriander’ but the leaves are called ‘cilantro’, a word borrowed from Spanish. The Afghan spice known as ‘hing’ in Indian English is ‘asafoetida’ in Britain and the United States, while it is ‘duivelsdrek’ in South African English: this is a loanword from Afrikaans meaning literally 'devil's dung' (because that is what asafoetida smells like). The spice called ‘jeera ‘in Indian English is ‘cumin’ or ‘cummin’ in British and U.S. English. Indian English ‘methi’ is British English ‘fenugreek'’. Indian English ‘alu’ is U.S. and British English ‘potato’. The fruit ‘okra’ (this name is borrowed from the Akan language of Ghana) is also known regionally as ‘gumbo’ (borrowed from Mbundu of Angola), 'bhindi' (borrowed from Marathi of India), and ladies' fingers. The ‘chickpea’ is also known as ‘chana’(borrowed from Hindi) and ‘garbanzo bean’ (borrowed from Spanish). Even where the English names derive ultimately from a single foreign word, they may have different forms and connotations in different regions, like U.S. English ‘kabob’ for British English’ kebab’ (a word that is Turkish in origin).
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