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Given English has had so many external influences from other languages over time from invasion alone then English, isn't as geographic as inferred by name. E
by Zenst 11y ago
Given English has had so many external influences from other languages over time from invasion alone then English, isn't as geographic as inferred by name. Even Shakespeare's time, the language then is not what is used to today and it still evolves and with that.
Maybe English is were it is at because it adapts more quickly than other languages and with that English has changed much as a language over time and still does.
- evincarofautumn 11y agoLanguages are generally simplified by contact with other languages, and because of the Norman Invasion, and later the British Empire, English has had a lot of of contact. Inversely, the more isolated a language is (e.g., by mountain ranges or seas) the more complex and idiosyncratic it tends to become. So yes, English has historically adapted more quickly than many other languages, but this doesn’t have anything to do with the language itself.