languages often use loanwords because cultures learn about new ideas and inventions from people of the languages they borrow from. for example, in english the names of meats and wines often come from french, musical terms often come from italian, and philosophical terms often come from german. although native english speakers are now familiar with chinese ideas and inventions, they are often called by their japanese names in english because these were introduced to americans through japan. china, on the other hand, was closed off from the world when its ideas and inventions spread throughout the world because its communist government stopped communication with most outside countries, including america.