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the__truthguy t1_ir9n4gx wrote

I've been teaching English as a second language for 20 years. I speak English, French, German, and I know a ton of Latin (thanks to English).

It is blatantly obvious to me that English is German people incorporating an enormous amount of French and Latin words into their vocabulary. I think what people overlook is how influential French was during the late Middle Ages. It was considered the language of the learned and as such anyone who could read learned French. It wasn't a result of French migration, but rather the English admiration and obsession with everything French. It is through them that we learned everything, from the alphabet to the classics.

As an example, I will re-write the paragraph above, but take out all the French/Latin words and you'll see how English is a German language at heart.

It is grossly clear to me that English is German folk bringing in an very big sum of French and Latin words into their word list. I think what folk overlook is how stark French was when the late Middle Ages was. It was thought the language of the learned and as such everyone who could read learned French. It wasn't an outcome of French wandering, but rather the English wonder and worship with everything French. It is through them that we learned everything, from the alphabet to the classics.

English sounds weird without all the French and Latin, but it's still English, which is a German dialect. No doubt.

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Marcellus_Crowe t1_ir9p2eq wrote

It is Germanic, rather than German. It shares a common ancestor with modern German and belongs to the same family as Dutch.

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ConsitutionalHistory t1_irbxpxs wrote

Forgive me but that's a gross over-simplification as it doesn't account for Danish influences, Celtic, etc. or the myriad of other peoples who came and went to the British Isles.

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the__truthguy t1_ird848j wrote

Too bad. It's not a novel; It's a 400 letter reddit comment.

Without a doubt, English, in its beginning, was a Germanic language. You can cry about that all the way home. It's been loaded up with a ton of loanwords over the past 1,500 years, which makes it more Latinized than other Germanic languages, but that's about it.

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Wintersbone7 t1_irgze4o wrote

Language is more than just vocabulary. It is the grammar structure that makes English a Germanic language. It has a shit ton of Latin based words though

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TheSovereignGrave t1_ir9pp3z wrote

It's definitely not German. Sure it's similar, but that because it's a West Germanic language like German. But German isn't even English's closest relative.

Also you're overlooking the Norman Conquest when England was literally conquered & ruled over by Frenchmen.

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