Why is English a Germanic language?
- Thread starter Derekc2
- Start date
The grammar is Germanic. And I believe a slight majority of the words are Germanic.
Old English came from Old Germanic languages that were brought to Britain. Then it was Frenchified by the Normans and became Early Modern English. Then evolved by itself and become English. But it stayed a Germanic language the whole time.
While French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, etc. evolved from Latin.
Old English came from Old Germanic languages that were brought to Britain. Then it was Frenchified by the Normans and became Early Modern English. Then evolved by itself and become English. But it stayed a Germanic language the whole time.
While French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, etc. evolved from Latin.
Delvestius
Banned
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_settlement_of_Britain
English vocabulary is roughly 60% Romantic, 30% Germanic and 10% words from other languages. The grammar is almost all Germanic.
.... why did you make another thread?
English vocabulary is roughly 60% Romantic, 30% Germanic and 10% words from other languages. The grammar is almost all Germanic.
.... why did you make another thread?
Because...it is? Are you asking why it isn't classified as a Romance language? If you are, it's because English isn't descended from Latin. It's from Old Germanic languages, like Zuvarq said.
Why is english a germanic language but French and the rest of western european languages (oh and Romanian) are Romance languages?
If you mean "why is English classified as a Germanic language" it's because it is one. Languages have traceable lines of descent. A couple thousand years ago Old English or Anglo-Saxon broke off from the West Germanic proto-language, and modern English is a direct descendant of it, even with all the Norman influx.
Here's a simple version of the Indo-European language tree, if it helps you out.
And here's a really good version of the Indo-European language tree that's too big to post. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/IndoEuropeanTree.svg
Last edited:
usertron2020
Donor
Want cultural proof of English being Germanic? Watch a film made by a Romance language country, dubbed in English. Its not as bad as the torture of watching a Japanese language film dubbed in English, but its pretty bad. Too many words ending in vowels for the actors that don't in English, leaving open mouths where they should be closed.
In Germanic language films, the matching is so perfect that you almost get the idea that they re-shot the movie in English! Das Boot is an excellent example (using Jurgen Prochnow to dub his own voice helped, of course).
EDIT: Romance languages have gender, Germanic languages do not.
In Germanic language films, the matching is so perfect that you almost get the idea that they re-shot the movie in English!
Das Boot is an excellent example (using Jurgen Prochnow to dub his own voice helped, of course).EDIT: Romance languages have gender, Germanic languages do not.
What? Germanic languages do, or at least German does. Granted, it does have a neutral form, but still.
Hmmm... someone ought to tell that to the speakers of the several Germanic languages that have gender. Note that sex based gender goes back at least to PIE.
What kind of strange definition of Western Europe are you using? There are plenty of Germanic and even Celtic languages in Western Europe, even if you throw in Germany with Central.Why is english a germanic language but French and the rest of western european languages (oh and Romanian
Some have lost it like English and Afrikaans, and in others like Dutch it's a bit muddled and confusing, but it is still very strongly used in others. Proto-Germanic had a 3-gender system.
PoeFacedKilla
Banned
Why is english a germanic language but French and the rest of western european languages (oh and Romanian
Because england is nothing more than German with a voul shift (plus 1000 years of slang.)
In reality, English is far more like German than any other language (including French.) The words are almost identical albiet they are pronounced very differently but if you really pay attention you can notice that they come from the same language not so long ago.
(i know this is a simple example, but just to add one)
English: Good Night
German: Gute Nacht
English: Good, Thanks.
German: Gut, Danke.
To be fair, the Gaelic-Brythonic Celtic split is because of the later's dose of Romance that the earlier hasnt. I think Breton has it the most.
Ever heard of Dutch, it has a lot more similarities with German than English does, in part because less of the Dutch vocabulary has been romanised than in English.
English: money
German: Geld
Dutch: geld
English: judge (person)
German: Richter
Dutch: rechter
Maybe the OP was wondering why the English adopted a Germanic language while the rest of the Roman territories in W. Europe adopted Latin-based tongues. France after all was overrun by Germanic tribes (the Franks) after the Roman Empire collapsed, yet the language remained a Romance one.
I assume this was just that Roman Rule and colonization in Britain was a lot less advanced than in France or Spain.
I assume this was just that Roman Rule and colonization in Britain was a lot less advanced than in France or Spain.
Your wording about "the English adopting" is odd, but I think I understand your question. The leaders of the Franks and various Goths who occupied Gaul and Spain often sought to legitimize their rule by claiming they were sucessors of Rome. Adoption of Latin and Roman Christianity was a way to do this. Angles (the English) did not have such a need.
Gold. Actually the meaning of "geld" is is quite understandable to any English speaker. "L'argent" or "el dinero" is not
Interestingly enough, a romance language still survived in Romania, despite many more later invasions, and much less time ruled by the Romans.
I've always heard English classed as a Germanic language with an infusion of French vocabulary.
Regards
R
Argent was an old English word for silver (derived from Latin through Norman-French) , which has fallen into disuse. Note the chemical symbol Ag from the Latin.
Regards
R
Last edited:
They way I heard it Dutch is basicly the language just between English and German. Dutch is the major language* closest to English and German is the major language* closest to Dutch. I am not sure if Dutch is the major language closest to German, but I think it is.
* other minor** languages like Frisian and Scots are closer to English, while Afrikaans is closer to Dutch.
**using completely arbitrairy values for minor and major, because that way my statement is more correct