Parte 1, Notas sur le anglese

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Quando nos cerca le historia de un parola anglese in un dictionario, generalmente nos trova que le parola ha su origine in le hollandese, le espaniol, le greco, le francese, e altere linguas. Multe pauc parolas in un dictionario assatis grande veni del anglosaxon, un gruppo de dialectos parlate per le original invasores germanic qui invadeva Anglaterra in le seculo quinte.

Generalmente, isto non es le experientia que on ha quando on consulta dictionarios de altere linguas. Il non ha ulle lingua in le mundo que non ha importate parolas de altere linguas, ma in le anglese, tal importationes es frequentissime.

Un lingua como le polonese es differente. Le poloneses, pro exemplo, trova que le parolas le plus basic de lor lingua veni non del hollandese, del greco, e del francese ma del lingua protoslavonic que produceva le familia slave. E le vocabularios de linguas como le chinese, le arabe, e multe altere linguas con un tradition litterari anque veni de un sol ancestre linguistic.

De omne le parolas in le Oxford English Dictionary, 99% (noventa e nove per cento) veniva de altere linguas. Ma le 1% (un per cento) del parolas que veniva del anglosaxon anque es le 62% (sexanta per cento) del vocabulos le plus frequente in le anglese.

Assi parolas de origine anglosaxon como "and", "but", "father", "love", "fight", "to", "will", "should", "not", e "from" es fundamental al uso del anglese. Ma le major parte de nostre vocabulario veni de un varietate de altere linguas, e non solmente del latino, como in le caso de parolas como "adjacent" e "expedite". Le anglese ha multe parolas que veni de un diversitate de linguas que nos le anglophonos considera tan essential como le parolas anglosaxon citate supra.

Il es possibile, naturalmente, componer breve textos con solmente parolas anglosaxon e cunear nove parolas ex elementos de iste formas germanic pro conceptos plus abstracte, pro exemplo "speechcraft" in vice de "grammatica", ma practicamente il esserea impossibile scriber libros sin le uso de multe parolas que ha lor origine in un gruppo assatis grande de altere linguas.

Assi, le vocabulario del anglese es como le architectura de San Francisco, California, con multe belle edificios, ma un numero multo parve del edificios construite ante le seismo e incendio de 1906 (mille nove centos sex). Le anglese perdeva la major parte de su vocabulario original a causa de tres "seismos" lexic.

Le vikingos invadeva le medietate del nord de Britannia comenciante in 787 (septe centos octanta e septe). Illes parlava un lingua germanic que es le ancestre del linguas scandinave contemporanee. Lor lingua non esseva multo differente del lingua del anglosaxones, e le duo populos poteva comprender al minus 80% (octanta per cento) de lo que se diceva quando illes habeva conversationes in lor linguas respective.

Le vikingos contribueva circa 1.000 (mille) parolas al anglese, como "both", "same", "again", "get", "give", "are", "skirt", "sky", e "skin". Si io diceva a vos que "on a foggy Thursday, a sly, dirty-necked, scowling outlaw skulked into the bank with a knife, ransacked it, and crawled out of the window seemingly happy", cata parola esserea un contribution del vikingos con le exception de "a", "into", "the", "with", "it", e "out".

---

When we look up the history of an English word in a dictionary, generally we find that the word has its origin in Dutch, Spanish, Greek, French, and other languages. Very few words in a rather large dictionary come from Anglo-Saxon, a group of dialects spoken by the original Germanic invaders who invaded England in the fifth century.

Generally, this is not the experience that people have when they consult dictionaries of other languages. There is no other language in the world that has not imported words from other languages, but in English such importations are very frequent.

A language like Polish is different. Poles, for example find that the most basic words of their language come not from Dutch, Greek, and French but from the protoslavic language that produced the Slavic family. And the vocabularies of languages like Chinese, Arabic, and many other languages with a literary tradition also come from a single ancestral language.

Of all the words in the Oxford English Dictionary, 99% (ninety-nine percent) came from other languages. Bt the 1% (one percent) of the words that came from Anglo-Saxon also are the most frequent ones in English.

Thus words of Anglo-Saxon origin such as "and," "but," "father," "love," "fight," "to," will," "should," "not," and "from" are fundamental to the use of English. But the greater part of our vocabulary comes from a variety of other languages, and not only Latin, as in the case of words such as "adjacent" and "expedite." English has many words that come from a diversity of languages that we English speakers consider to be as essential as the Anglo-Saxon words cited above.

It is possible, naturally, to compose brief texts with only Anglo-Saxon words and coin new words from elements of these Germanic forms for more abstract concepts, for example "speechcraft" instead of "grammar," but practically it would be impossible to write books without the use of many words that have their origin in a rather large group of other languages.

Thus, the vocabulary of English is like the architecture of San Francisco, California, with many beautiful buildings, but a very small number of buildings constructed before the earthquake and fire of 1906 (nineteen oh six). English lost most of its original vocabulary because of three lexical "earthquakes."

The Vikings invaded the northern half of Britain starting in 787 (seven eighty-seven). They spoke a Germanic language that is the ancestor of the contempoary Scandinavian languages. Their language was not very different from the language of the Anglo-Saxons, and the two peoples were able to understand at least 80% (eighty percent) of what they said when they had conversations in their respective languages.

The Vikings contributed about 1,000 (one thousand) words to English, such as "both," "same," "again," "get," "give," "are," "skirt," "sky," and "skin." If I said to you that "on a foggy Thursday, a sly, dirty-necked, scowling outlaw skulked into the bank with a knife, ransacked it, and crawled out of the window seemingly happy," each word would be a contribution from the Vikings except for "a," "into," "the," "with," "it," and "out."