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The Core of English Language Descends From Old English

The core of the English language originated from Old English brought by Germanic tribes in the 5th century. Approximately 70% of modern English words have Anglo-Saxon origins, while around 29% come from both Latin and French sources due to invasions and settlements over the centuries. New words continue to enter the language through borrowing, blending, and coining terms from roots of dead languages.

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Irina Vlas
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238 views1 page

The Core of English Language Descends From Old English

The core of the English language originated from Old English brought by Germanic tribes in the 5th century. Approximately 70% of modern English words have Anglo-Saxon origins, while around 29% come from both Latin and French sources due to invasions and settlements over the centuries. New words continue to enter the language through borrowing, blending, and coining terms from roots of dead languages.

Uploaded by

Irina Vlas
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The core of English language

descends from Old English, the


language brought with the
Angles, Saxon, and Jutish settlers
to what was to be called England
in and after the 500s. The bulk of
the language in spoken and
written texts is from this source.
As a statistical rule, around 70
percent of words in any text are
Anglo-Saxon. Moreover, the
grammar is largely Anglo-Saxon.

A significant portion of the


English vocabulary comes from
Romance and Latinate sources.
Estimates of native words (derived from Old English) range from 20%33%, with
the rest made up of outside borrowings. A portion of these borrowings come
directly from Latin, or through one of the Romance languages, particularly Anglo-
Norman and French, but some also from Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; or from
other languages (such as Gothic, Frankish or Greek) into Latin and then into
English. The influence of Latin in English, therefore, is primarily lexical in nature,
being confined mainly to words derived from Latin roots.

While some new words enter English as slang, most do not. Some words are
adopted from other languages; some are mixtures of existing words (portmanteau
words), and some are new creations made of roots from dead languages: e.g.,
thanatopsis.

According to one study, the percentage of modern English words derived


from each language group are as follows:
Latin (including words used only in scientific / medical / legal contexts): ~29%
French: ~29%
Germanic: ~26%
Others: ~16%

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