6 ms·

English is undoubtedly already creole. See the "Anglish" movement for an idea of what English would be like if it were true to its roots. It is a mix of Anglo-

English is undoubtedly already creole. See the "Anglish" movement for an idea of what English would be like if it were true to its roots. It is a mix of Anglo-Saxon, German, Latin, French, and Dutch. On top of these fundamental contributions, it borrowed quite a few words from the four corners of the earth as the British empire spread to those four corners and contracted again.

Waterluvian 8y ago
Cool. Thanks for sharing. So it would be unsurprising if English adopts a ton of Hindi, Mandarin, more Spanish, etc. in the next century of global commerce and Internet.
- gilleain 8y ago
  Heh, I was curious so: Hindi/Urdu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Hindi_or_Urdu_origin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Hindi_... : eg Avatar, Bungalow, Cot, Dungaree, Jungle ... Chinese/Japanese : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Chinese_origin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Chine... : eg Char, Gung-ho, Ketchup, Wok ... Spanish : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Spanish_origin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Spani... : eg Adobe, Banana, Canyon, Hurricane ...
BerislavLopac 8y ago
Actually this borrowing is far older than the British Empire. First, the language of Angles and Saxons absorbed some of Briton and Latin languages spoken by their predecessors in Britain. Then the Danes (and Norse in general) introduced many changes that are still part of the language, and finally the Norman conquerors enforced their own French as the language of the ruling class.
- hydrox24 8y ago
  > Actually this borrowing is far older than the British Empire. You're quite right. I wasn't suggesting that the borrowing occurred during the British empire (I don't think they conquered anywhere that spoke latin). I was suggesting that the empire imported the occasional word from a list of nations and languages too long to list: >> _On top of these fundamental contributions_, it borrowed quite a few words from the four corners of the earth

Waterluvian 8y ago

Cool. Thanks for sharing. So it would be unsurprising if English adopts a ton of Hindi, Mandarin, more Spanish, etc. in the next century of global commerce and Internet.

gilleain 8y ago
Heh, I was curious so: Hindi/Urdu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Hindi_or_Urdu_origin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Hindi_... : eg Avatar, Bungalow, Cot, Dungaree, Jungle ... Chinese/Japanese : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Chinese_origin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Chine... : eg Char, Gung-ho, Ketchup, Wok ... Spanish : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Spanish_origin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Spani... : eg Adobe, Banana, Canyon, Hurricane ...

BerislavLopac 8y ago

Actually this borrowing is far older than the British Empire. First, the language of Angles and Saxons absorbed some of Briton and Latin languages spoken by their predecessors in Britain. Then the Danes (and Norse in general) introduced many changes that are still part of the language, and finally the Norman conquerors enforced their own French as the language of the ruling class.

hydrox24 8y ago
> Actually this borrowing is far older than the British Empire. You're quite right. I wasn't suggesting that the borrowing occurred during the British empire (I don't think they conquered anywhere that spoke latin). I was suggesting that the empire imported the occasional word from a list of nations and languages too long to list: >> _On top of these fundamental contributions_, it borrowed quite a few words from the four corners of the earth