Why is Dutch so close to English?

River Kenn   Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:12 pm GMT
<Diepenheim,Bergentheim,Siebengewald,Ubach,Waubach,Wehl>

Yep, those names sound way more German than Dutch. Even though Dutch is closer to English than German is to English, English placenames seem closer to German placenames than Dutch placenames. Though the above example of German looking Dutch placenames are not good examples of English - German placename likeness.





Exeter is in England

Exter is in Deutchland
Franco   Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:22 pm GMT
Rostock (North Eastern Germany) sounds very English to me.
rep   Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:06 pm GMT
Babergh,Bergholt,Bergh,Ostend are placenames in Suffolk and Norfolk counties.Sedbergh is in Northumberland,England.
Moorfleet,Hammerbrook are parts or suburbs of Hamburg city,Germany.
rep   Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:26 pm GMT
Steenrade,Schipphorst,Oldenborstel,Brunsteen,Nienrade,Quaal,Sandkamp,Martensrade,Grotenheid,Bokel,Haarbek,Wittenbergen,Brekels are placenames in Holstein and Schleswig,Germany but seem similar to Dutch placenames.
.   Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:13 pm GMT
we're all just German... why can't we all just be German...?
Breda and Lemgo   Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:20 pm GMT
Breda which is near Lemgo which is near the English sounding place Herford (Herford Germany not Hereford England) both sound like Dutch places Breda, Almelo and Hengelo.
Gerwoman   Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:01 am GMT
《we're all just German... why can't we all just be German...?》

All Germans are racists. All Germans are Nazi. It's in the blood.
Bla bla bla   Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:35 am GMT
^^ LOL TROLL!
rep   Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:58 am GMT
Lemgo, Germany
Hunsingo, Netherlands.
Both are placenames of Low Saxon origin.
L.Saxon go, Frisian ga or goa,Dutch gouw,German Gau (shire).
Dutch variety sounds similar to German,Low Saxon sounds more similar to Frisian.
Leasnam   Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:20 pm GMT
<<L.Saxon go, Frisian ga or goa,Dutch gouw,German Gau (shire). >>

This suffix also appears in English placenames as "-y" or "-ey" (eg. Surrey < Suthrige) (--not to be confused with the other '-ey' meaning island) from Old English -gē, -gēa meaning district, country, region, territory.
Caspian   Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:15 pm GMT
<< Dublin Ireland
Berlin Deutschland >>

I don't think there's any real etymological connection between these place names:

The word 'Berlin' stems from the Polabian stem berl- / birl- (“swamp”) + suffix -in.

The word 'Dublin', however, means 'black pond' in Old Irish. (Dub = black, lin = pond).
Von Hamelin   Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:50 am GMT
Ones a 'swamp' and ones a 'black pond"

Real or unreal, there certainly dose seem to be some etymological connection with the two places meaning bodies of murky shallow plant filled standing water.
minstrel   Sun Mar 21, 2010 3:32 pm GMT
> rep Mon Mar 15, 2010 7:28 pm GMT

English / O. E. / O. Norse / Hokkienese (in Peh-oe-ji)
castle / burg / borg / po (pronounce as ber)
foot / fot / fotr / hu, kha-thau-hu (knee)
goat / haefer / hafr / kiunn, kiunn-kou (pronounce as giu + nn, giunn-gor) (nn = nasalization)
hill / hwael / hvall / hiu (project something out highly)
stone / stan / steinn / sek-kam-tong (a piece of square stone)
court / thing / thing / theng (pronounce as ting)
(courtyard / tiong-theng, atrium / chhim-chinn)
minstrel   Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:30 pm GMT
> rep

English / O. E. / O. Norse / Hokkienese (in Peh-oe-ji)
blue / blae / blár / phu (pronounce as pu; grey)
valley, dale / dael / dalr / tau (pronounce as dau); soann-tau
dove / duva / dufa / ka-chui, chui
old / gamel / gamall / lau-me-me
ghost / grimm / grimr / kui (pronounce as gui), lau-toa-lang
people / theod / thioth / thio-hu (traveling across long distance hawker)
people / ? / ? / phi-pou (pronounce as pi-bor; farmer)
South Korean   Sat Mar 27, 2010 4:40 pm GMT
Fucking (town in Austria) sounds very English to me, although not phonetically.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria