2007-07-31 22:31:44 · 14 answers · asked by Ivanek 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
To say English is a Germanic language is a bit simplistic. As Sahar says, it's from the Indo-Aryan root language, but so are all European languages. The Germanic influx of the 8th Century was not the beginning of language in Britain. The Anglo-Saxon people (Germanic Norse) had already been heavily influenced by the Roman invasion. To the victor went the language, and the later invaders found a flourishing Romance (or Romanic, but definitely not Romantic!) spectrum of languages. The Norman invasion of 1066 brought French into the mix, being the language of law and government, but as benevolent despots, the Normans allowed indigenous languages to flourish alongside the new.
Ultimately, English now has more in common with the Romance languages, having adopted a grammar based on Latin rather than Gothic sources. English could best be described as a European language, a situation that seems to be developing further as American English is diverging more and more from current English usage.
2007-08-01 01:50:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
English is a Germanic language, yes. It's not German though, that's a different language.
2007-07-31 22:43:20 · answer #2 · answered by Orla C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Although there are many similarities between the two as they are both of Germanic origin, they are two seperate languages. The grammar, for starters, is completely different and be careful because some words common to both languages have very different meanings. One must, of course, remember that the English Royal family has German descent and many words in our modern language are of German origin.
2007-07-31 22:52:01 · answer #3 · answered by Nigel B 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't agree with the popular description of it being Germanic because that implies that the bulk of it is of German origin. In fact there is a lot of Latin from the Roman invasion, Germanic from the Saxon invasion, French from the Norman invasion and a few other ancient languages such as Greek and some Scandanavian words too.
2007-07-31 22:45:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yep, there is a bit of a clue in the origin of the word English itself relating to the Angles, a germanic tribe which invaded Briton and dsiplaced the native celts.
In fact in some parts of Germany (Schleswig-Holstein - an area also known as Angeln) some of the local dialect words are very similar to modern English
2007-07-31 22:48:25 · answer #5 · answered by Ian G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a language made up of German (a lot) Latin Greek French ( which is a degraded form of Latin) and a few words from everywhere this country has traded and/or had an Empire. This makes it a most flexible language not afraid to adopt words from elsewhere and Anglicize them
2007-07-31 22:44:00 · answer #6 · answered by Scouse 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is a Germanic language and a lot easier to learn than Spanish or French which is based on Latin (romantic languages) or Slavic; Polish, Russian
Oi! Tc; Ich denke nicht
Also; Language=Sprache
abd I'm not bothered to correct the rest..
2007-07-31 22:38:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
German and English are both Indo-Aryan languages. The next sub-branch is germanic.
2007-07-31 23:47:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, It is english. Hence the different name!
:)
Yes, it is considered a Germanic language.
2007-07-31 22:34:49 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
it roots from the germanic languages.
2007-07-31 22:50:55 · answer #10 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋