English language

[hal2000]

This pie chart shows where the words of the English language come from.

[gyro]

Yep.

[hwinpp]

LOL!
Gyro, you're too much!

I wouldn't have thunk Latin makes up so much.

What I find interesting is that Germanic words tend to be negative while French words tend to be positive. E.g. swine/pork.

[Deleted]

"Yes" comes from the Germanic... and so does "no".

[patricklondon]

What I find interesting is that Germanic words tend to be negative while French words tend to be positive. E.g. swine/pork.

This is, basically, a class thing: upper class (aristocratic/legal/governmental) language was Norman French. lower class was Anglo-Saxon, for hundreds of years before a "merged" language appeared - and the distinction remains.

[Deleted]

This chart made for fascinating dinner talk last p.m. at our potluck. Thank you.

[Deleted]

The 6% Greek intrigues me. I think that a lot of those words didn't come directly from Greek but were constructed afterwards by scholars who had studied Greek.

[gyro]

Pretty much any word that ends 'ion' will be of French origin. Predominately, the smaller one syllable words like 'Cat' or 'Dog' will be Anglo Saxon.

[bixaorellana]

In some cases, I want to know how they figured which was which. For instance, all the English words that are derived from French and Latin -- since French is a Romance language, does that mean that Latin should have a bigger piece of the pie? Likewise words of Greek origin, such as program. I suspect it entered English via the Normans, but how is that determined at this late date?

[Deleted]

Well, some of the Latin was converted to French before entering English. But I suppose that there must also be a number of words of Frankish (i.e. German) origin that entered French and were passed on to the English as well.

I assume that France was the language filter to England mostly because it was the closest neighbor.

[bixaorellana]

May 27, 2009 17:59:45 GMT kerouac2 said:

Well, some of the Latin was converted to French before entering English. But I suppose that there must also be a number of words of Frankish (i.e. German) origin that entered French and were passed on to the English as well.

I assume that France was the language filter to England mostly because it was the closest neighbor.

Um, I think it was more that bad neighbor, conquest thing:

The Norman conquest of England began in 1066 AD with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William, Duke of Normandy ("William the Conqueror or William the Bastard"), and his victory at the Battle of Hastings. This resulted in Norman control of England, which was firmly established during the next few years. The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history for several reasons. It largely removed the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy and clerical hierarchy. This in turn brought about a transformation of the English language and the culture of England. By subjecting the country to rulers originating in France it linked England more closely with continental Europe, while lessening Scandinavian influence, and set the stage for a rivalry with France that would continue intermittently for more than eight centuries.

(here is the rest of the =http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_ConquestWikipedia article)

[Deleted]

Well of course you invade your neighbors -- it's easier. And the name is Guillaume le Conquérant, not William the Conquerer!

[gyro]

I assume that France was the language filter to England mostly because it was the closest neighbor.

What a load of cock. Basically, the 'English' have had French heritage/lineage for almost a thousand years. Pretty much every country is a sperm milkshake if you go back far enough.