Ranch but sombrero.

[Rezia]

There's a number of Spanish borrowings into the English language. "Ranch" and "sombrero" are among the most famous. Well, the question is the //following.how can we explain the dropping of "o" in "ranch" (from rancho) comparing to "sombrero" where "o" keeps its place.

[RawonaM]

Well, the question is the //following.how can we explain the dropping of "o" in "ranch" (from rancho) comparing to "sombrero" where "o" keeps its place.

Different degrees of word assimilation, resulting from different usage frequency.

[Rezia]

Thank you. Are there other examples alike?

[paul_kiss]

How can we explain the dropping of "o" in "ranch" (from rancho) comparing to "sombrero" where "o" keeps its place.

I think it's all about the easiest way of pronouncing these words. 'Ranch' looks and sounds pretty much like an English word ('range', 'branch'), but if we drop 'o' in 'sombrero', what will we get? 'A sombrer'? I may be wrong, but this don't look like a good word for frequent use. (Hypothetically, it could be cut to 'som'. "Gimme my old black som...") So the Spanish word left untouched.

Maybe...

[Dark]

Hell yeah! It sounds quite reasonable. A "sombrero" with a dropped final vowel would create a difficulty in pronunciation. Two American "r's" in the end of a word... That wouldn't make our life easier...
I assume Paul kiss is right... It's the convenience issue.

[Rezia]

Well, the question is the //following.how can we explain the dropping of "o" in "ranch" (from rancho) comparing to "sombrero" where "o" keeps its place.

Different degrees of word assimilation, resulting from different usage frequency.

Well, right, here we have different degrees of assimilation of borrowings. "Ranch" is completely assimilated while "sombrero" is partly assimilated. Actually "sombrero" is not assimilated semantically, it still denotes an object, a hat, peculiar to the culture where it came from.

[Rezia]

There's a number of Spanish borrowings which end in -o: Negro, mulatto, bravado. But renegato was assimilated into renegade.

[paul_kiss]

How about "amigo"? I think it's also used... sometimes, in certain situations...

[Смайлик]

How about "amigo"? I think it's also used... sometimes, in certain situations...

Yeah it's actually quite frequent (although "esse" is even more frequent).  I'd place them along with "sombrero" because they're as Rezia said, not semantically assimilated.

[Смайлик]

Oh, by the way, by "frequent" I meant frequent in spoken English. The word "amigo" is in the dictionary but I have not seen it used in the literary language.

Here's two more frequent Spanish words: "fiesta" and "siesta"   

[Rezia]

Well, "siesta" and "fiesta" are rather barbarisms as they are peculiar to the Spanish culture.

[Смайлик]

Well, "siesta" and "fiesta" are rather barbarisms as they are peculiar to the Spanish culture.

I could see that with "siesta", but how is "fiesta" peculiar to the Spanish culture?  I'm under the impression that it's just a festival or outdoor party.  But it is quite possible that I'm wrong.