2007-03-18 05:06:21 · 14 answers · asked by sovaj 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Fifty percent might be a bit high, but a lot of the language is French because of the Norman invasion of 1066.
2007-03-18 05:09:16 · answer #1 · answered by balderarrow 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don' t think it's true. English is a Germanic language. But it's also a language which borrows a lot from other languages, especially Greek and Latin.
But French? I speak French. I don't see how English could be more than 50% French in origin.
2007-03-18 12:11:11 · answer #2 · answered by glurpy 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Does anybody bother to look up sources before answering?
Wikipedia says:
"A great number of words of French origin have entered the English language to the extent that 40% of its vocabulary is of French origin. ... Most of the French vocabulary now appearing in English was imported over the centuries following the Norman Conquest of 1066, when England came under the administration of Norman-speaking peoples. According to different sources, between one third to two thirds of all English words have a French origin."
HOWEVER: the very-most-common words in English -- such words as the, a, and, is, you, etc. -- are not French in origin.
2007-03-18 12:55:50 · answer #3 · answered by K ; 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It isn't exactly 50%, however because of the Norman conquest--there are many french words within the English language (borrowed of course). English is a complex, yet beautiful language because it contains latin, french, Teutonic, Irish, african, spanish, etc....words from all over the world. These words are incorparated into the English language that many people speak the world over :)
2007-03-18 12:15:09 · answer #4 · answered by Gerry 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
English is based on a number of different languages. We often adopted parts of our languages from the languages of peoples which invaded us. This is why most European languages are similar to or based on Latin, the language of the Romans, who invaded most of Europe.
English could be considered 50% Saxon and Norman, who also invaded us. The Norman language is very close to modern day French.
2007-03-18 12:12:07 · answer #5 · answered by paulbilsborough 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I know that English is about 50% derived from Latin, but French... I don't think so.
2007-03-21 18:24:58 · answer #6 · answered by Qstkid 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No if u look at the end of a Miriam websters dictionary youll fing the language family tree English, Frisian, Modern low german, Flemish, Dutch, and Afrikaans connects with Low german which connects with High German which connects with West Germanic>connects with East Germanic(Gothic) and North Germanic
2007-03-18 12:31:43
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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No not true so no why about it.
Latin has a strong base in quite a lot of languages.
2007-03-18 12:09:37 · answer #8 · answered by Jewel 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Dunno about the percentage, but given the last successful invasion was by the French (Norman Conquest, 1066) it's not surprising that many of our words have French origins.
2007-03-18 12:10:12 · answer #9 · answered by The Transporter 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
am not sure,not a language expert.all what i know is every language,especially english,borrows from another!
2007-03-21 15:47:50 · answer #10 · answered by ajoke77 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋