Does english come from another language?

Question

I know that many languages are based on latin, but where does english come from if anywhere.

Answer 1

It is a mixture of many languages but its root is German.

Answer 2

English originated in England, and is a West Germanic language which developed from Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons. As a result of the Norman Conquest and other events in English history, it has been heavily influenced, more than any other Germanic language, by French and Latin.

Answer 3

The English that Americans speak is derived from many different languages due to all of the immigrants who came here LEGALLY way back when.

Some English words are derived from Spanish, French, German and Latin among others. We have parts of words from all over the world but most of it came from England when our country was settled.'

Answer 4

It is made up of many roots. This is what makes it such a rich language.

English has its early roots in Anglo Saxon which is heavily influenced by the Germanic languages, and then, of course, with invasions by Vikings, Romans, and the Normans (French), words from each of these languages were added. Latin and Greek words are incorporated too. More recently, the British empire added countries and their languages to our vocabulary, so Indian words, etc. become part of the everday usage. It's just beautiful that we have such a resource when it comes to expressing ourselves..

This is why we have many nuanced words for similar things, more so than any other language. (Nuanced, for example, is of French origin)

Answer 5

Some English words are based on Latin...well most of them are. But I don't really think English came from ANYWHERE.

Answer 6

JaneB and railroadxxx are the best answers on here from a linguistics point of view.

Also, vocabulary differs in different areas. For example, in the US the southwest states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and southern California have everyday words that are Mexican or South American in origins- many of these you won't find used in someplace like say, Rhode Island or Connecticut. Also, asking for a 'po boy' in NYC will draw some pretty blank stares (a po' boy is basically a sandwich on a hoagie bun/ a sub sandwich served in the south, esp in Louisiana, and comes from 'poor boy'). Also, in the south, every type of soda is called Coke as a general name (i.e., Mom, can I have a coke? --> Sure honey, what kind would you like? --> I'll have a Mountain Dew.)

Answer 7

English comes from many differnt languages, each having given a part. We have latin, french, celtic, etc.

Answer 8

It's Latin and Anglo-Saxon mostly. Bit of Greek, Old Norse and some other stuff too.

How in hell could it not come from anywhere? Did you think everyone in England just started speaking it one day, that it popped into their heads as a fully formed language in its current form?

Answer 9

a mixture of many .. we have many German words that we use in the English language.. Many French .. many latin..

but we are in the "Germanic Language" group.. which is german, english, polish, dutch.. all the annoying sounding languages.. lets put it that way.. lol

Answer 10

English evolved out of Old English which evolved out of Proto-Low German and, ultimately, from Proto-Germanic and farther back, Proto-Indo-European. It is not derived from Latin or Sanskrit or German or another Indo-European language. It is derived from the common ancestor that all these languages share.

Answer 11

English has it's roots in the Saxon dialect originating in the Frisian islands and lowlands. Frisian Dutch is the closest foreign language to English.