Which term best describes a word borrowed from another language through language contact?

• A. Calque
• B. Borrowing
• C. Metathesis
• D. Pangram

Answer: (B)

A word that enters a language from another language through contact is described as borrowing. This term covers the common situation where a word is taken from one language and used in another with its form largely intact (perhaps with small phonetic or orthographic adjustments) rather than being translated.

A calque, by contrast, is a loan translation—the idea is borrowed, but the form is translated rather than used as a single word. Metathesis is a phonological process where sounds swap places, not about borrowing words. A pangram is simply a sentence that uses every letter of the alphabet, unrelated to borrowing.