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Taylor514ce · 03-22-2008, 08:43 PM

English is the mentally-deficient offspring of cousins.

Yes, Old English (think: Beowulf) was Germanic. Germanic languages are one branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Another branch contains Latin and it's derivatives, including French. Germanic languages and Romance languages are thus cousins.

At the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the Old English language was forcibly raped by it's aggressive cousin, and what we today call English is the awkward result of that unholy union.

Since the conquerors imposed their language, the Latinate terms came to be viewed as the "fancier" terms, while the Germanic terms came to be considered more "common". We still speak both languages, which is why we have cars and automobiles.

(Don't confuse this with the current attack on "reader" by "liseuse" - that's an Australian thing.)

03-22-2008, 08:43 PM	#67
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	English is the mentally-deficient offspring of cousins. Yes, Old English (think: Beowulf) was Germanic. Germanic languages are one branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Another branch contains Latin and it's derivatives, including French. Germanic languages and Romance languages are thus cousins. At the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the Old English language was forcibly raped by it's aggressive cousin, and what we today call English is the awkward result of that unholy union. Since the conquerors imposed their language, the Latinate terms came to be viewed as the "fancier" terms, while the Germanic terms came to be considered more "common". We still speak both languages, which is why we have cars and automobiles. (Don't confuse this with the current attack on "reader" by "liseuse" - that's an Australian thing.) Last edited by Taylor514ce; 03-23-2008 at 12:42 AM.