Kelmon
Joined: 26 Sep 2008
Posts: 1
|
 Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:01 am Post subject: Language Skills |
 |
|
Hello,
I was just wondering: Why is english listed as an italic language when it's roots are clearly germanic? (Modern english is much closer to modern German than it is to french, italian, and so on) |
|
Tempest
Joined: 27 Apr 2008
Posts: 56
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 2:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I think theres an argument for English to be either Italic or Germanic, one of the orignal variants of the english languages was brought to Britain by Germanic settlers and Roman troops.
Considering the number of times, particularly in the last 20 years that the actual German language has changed I feel its relevant to have English more closely associated with Latin than with German.
_________________
-Doctor Matthew Carter-
Linguist and Archaeologist
Egyptology, Greek and Roman
Team: Lloyd George
RL: Paul Hughes |
|
JT
Joined: 12 Jul 2006
Posts: 207
Location: Murrietta, CA
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
The influence of Latin on English is more on its structure and grammar. This is because during the Regency, elements of the upper classes started to use Latin rules of grammar with written English. They did a few other things such as lengthen that 'a' sound in words like 'bath' and 'path' and adding extra letters into French-sounding words.
English is from the Germanic family of languages. German is actually a poor comparison, as has been pointed out, it has been subject to change on several occasions. A better comparison is Dutch.
Dutch has some Latin influences, from when Holland was ruled by Spain, but there was no adoption of grammar. There is also the 'new word construct' concept that is prevalent in German, where new things are described by constructs of existing words. A good German example is Fallschimjager (paratrooper) which has a literal translation along the lines of Falling Umbrella Hunter. A good Dutch example is Ziekenhuis, literally sick-house, for hospital. We do this in English too, but we take Latin and Greek words for the constructs, such as Television and Locomotive.
Spoken Dutch comes very easily to English speakers, and vice versa. The syntax is near identical, many common words sound very similar, numbers for example.
English is a mongrel tongue, partly we have assimilated words from our conquerors, those we conquered, our trade partners, enemies and allies, and from dead languages be cause it was fashionable at the time.
Knowing Latin will help you grasp English grammar, but it won't help you learn English any more than it will help you learn Japanese. Knowing German will allow you to recognise the phonemes and visemes of spoken English, as well as a lot of written words, and will allow you to construct concepts that assist in communications.
Long story short: English is a Germanic language.
T.
_________________
J.T. van Horne |
|
FAQ
