Is English the least "Germanic" language within th

LAA   Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:35 pm GMT
German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwiegan, Flemish, all sound very similar to each other. English is of Germanic origin, but it has evolved so much from its ancient state, more so than any of the other Germanic languages.

This of course, is due mainly to the Norman conquest of England, where French was introduced to the nation, and became the language of the upper class.

Old English, or Anglo-Saxon looks very much (written script) like other Germanic languages of today.

Yet, since then, English has borrowed 60% (a majority) of its vocabulary from French, a Latin language.

English still has a Germanic sentence structure, grammar, and for the most part, phonology. Yet, so much of its vocabulary originates from French, and thus Latin. In many cases, English resembles French more than it does German or Danish.

I can communicate and understand Romance speakers much more than I can Germanic speakers, and English is my first language! Granted, this may be because I speak a Romance language also. But even when I'm reading foriegn languages, I can comprehend say French, a lot more so than I can German.

Here are the directions on my Gel bottle in various languages. Compare them as you read.

(English) - Apply to damp or dry hair and style.

(French) - Appliquer sur les cheveux humides ou secs et coiffer.

(German) - Auf feuchtes oder trockenes Haar auftragen und stylen.

I speak English, and Spanish as a second language. I pronounce Spanish and Italian effortlessly. French is a little more difficult, but I pronounce it very well as long as I speak slowly. I can't pronounce German worth a damn. And bear in mind that English is my first language.

So my conclusion is that English is a Germanic tounge, heavily diluted with Latin influence. It is the most distant from its Germanic sisters.
Benjamin   Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:07 pm GMT
« Old English, or Anglo-Saxon looks very much (written script) like other Germanic languages of today. »

Old English seems quite similar to Old High German. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it looks like modern German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian or Danish though.

Initially, it might seem as though English doesn't have much shared vocabulary with languages such as German and Dutch. But after while, the similarities seem to become more apparent somehow. Here's a very silly little song in Dutch — see how much you can understand (the fourth line is nonsense, I think) — note that 'ui' in Dutch is pronounced like the 'ou' in 'mouse':

In Holland staat een huis
In Holland staat een huis
In Holland staat een huis ja ja
Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa
In Holland staat een huis
In Holland staate een huis

In dat huis daar woont een man
In dat huis daar woont een man
In dat huis daar woont een man ja ja
Can je tingele tingela hop sa sa
In dat huis daar woont een man
In dat huis daar woont een man

En die man die kiest een vrouw
En die man die kiest een vrouw
En die man die kiest een vrouw ja ja
Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa
En die man die kiest een vrouw
En die man die kiest een vrouw

En die vrouw die kiest een kind
En die vrouw die kiest een kind
En die vrouw die kiest een kind ja ja
Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa
En die vrouw die kiest een kind
En die vrouw die kiest een kind
LAA   Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:11 pm GMT
I understand two lines

In Holland staat een huis

In dat huis daar woont een man
fab   Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:34 pm GMT
Je pense que la distance entre les langues germaniques est bien plus importante qu'entre les langues romanes.

Quel est le niveau de similitude entre le Hollandais est l'Allemand par exemple ?
fab   Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:36 pm GMT
erreur,

" Entre le Hollandais et l'Allemand par exemple ? "
Benjamin   Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:51 pm GMT
Le niveau de similitude entre le néerlandais le l'allemand est plus fort que celui entre le néerlandais et l'anglais. Cependant, la prononciation et l'orthographe sont assez différentes. Pour un anglophone, il est plus facile de pronocer l'allemand tandis qu'il est peut-être plus facile de comprendre un texte néerlandais si'il a appris les règles orthographiques.
Sander   Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:55 am GMT
Benjamin,

>>note that 'ui' in Dutch is pronounced like the 'ou' in 'mouse': <<

No not exactly ... Not by far really, it's pronounced [œy].
zxczxc   Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:29 am GMT
German's far easier to pronounce than French, I find, since it's so overtly phoenetic. That said, I have learnt German for seven years at school.

BTW, what does "kiest" mean? It's the only bit I can't understand, apart from the fourth lines.
Sander   Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:01 am GMT
"chooses"
Benjamin   Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:02 pm GMT
<< No not exactly ... Not by far really, it's pronounced [œy]. >>

Let's say that it's pronounced more like the 'ou' in 'mouse' in Scottish Standard English then.
Sander   Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:04 pm GMT
In Holland staat een huis = In Holland stands a house
In Holland staat een huis = In Holland stands a house
In Holland staat een huis ja ja = In Holland stands a house yes yes
Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa = untranslatable*
In Holland staat een huis = In Holland stands a house
In Holland staate een huis = In Holland stands a house

In dat huis daar woont een man = In that house lives a man
In dat huis daar woont een man = In that house lives a man
In dat huis daar woont een man ja ja = In that house lives a man yes yes
Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa = untranslatable*
In dat huis daar woont een man = In that house lives a man
In dat huis daar woont een man = In that house lives a man

En die man die kiest een vrouw = And that man chooses a wife
En die man die kiest een vrouw = And that man chooses a wife
En die man die kiest een vrouw ja ja = And that man chooses a wife yes yes
Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa = untranslatable*
En die man die kiest een vrouw = And that man chooses a wife
En die man die kiest een vrouw = And that man chooses a wife

En die vrouw die kiest een kind = And that woman chooses a child
En die vrouw die kiest een kind = And that woman chooses a child
En die vrouw die kiest een kind ja ja = And that woman chooses a child yes yes
Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa = untranslatable*
En die vrouw die kiest een kind = And that woman chooses a child
En die vrouw die kiest een kind = And that woman chooses a child

* "Van je tingele tingela hop sa sa" does mean something "tingele" and "tingela" are derived from the Dutch verb imitating the sound of bells ("tingelen") and "hop" is an exclamation encouragning people to jump or dance. "sa sa" in this context is comparable to "yah yah!", as when on a cart or similar.
Sander   Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:07 pm GMT
>>Let's say that it's pronounced more like the 'ou' in 'mouse' in Scottish Standard English then.<<

That would mean the Dutch word for "mouse", "muis" sounds like the scottish english variant.Which is somewhat hard to imagine for me.
LAA   Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:29 pm GMT
Yes, I see both in written terms, and in verbal language, that German and Dutch seem much closer to each other than English. I can tell a Dutch accent from a German, but only because it is softer. Written, it is easy to tell the difference though.
Guest   Wed Jul 12, 2006 6:55 am GMT
>>Let's say that it's pronounced more like the 'ou' in 'mouse' in Scottish Standard English then.<<

And Canadian, where "about" is perceived as something between a-boat and a-boot.
Guest   Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:38 am GMT
" Apply to damp or dry hair and style.
(French) - Appliquer sur les cheveux humides ou secs et coiffer.
(German) - Auf feuchtes oder trockenes Haar auftragen und stylen "


ONly "apply" has some relation with the french sentence. It is quite far to be 60% as you claimed it.

with german : haar/hair; "und/and"; "style/stylen"