Anglicization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of changing a word or phrase from a foreign language into a form that sounds or looks like English
2. The process by which a non-English term is adapted in spelling or pronunciation to become more familiar to English speakers
3. Transforming a foreign name or term so it conforms to English linguistic patterns and usage

Etymology: "Anglicization" is a plain formation: the verb "anglicise", meaning to make something English in form or character, plus the suffix "-ation", which turns a verb into a noun for the process or result. The verb itself is built on "English", so the whole word simply means the act of making a foreign name or term conform to English. The suffix has a long pedigree. It passed from Latin "-ātiō" into Old French "-ation", then into Middle English as "-acioun", and settled into its modern form in English. That is why so many English nouns ending in "-ation" share the same process-noun role, from "creation" to "nation" and "organisation". The spelling is a matter of regional convention. British English usually writes "anglicisation" with an "s", while American English writes "anglicization" with a "z". Both spellings describe the same process, and the Oxford standard is the "s" form.

Synonyms: Englishification, Anglicising, English adaptation, Britishization, Anglicising