Exactly how this is one to plenty would be borrowed out of French regarding the English vocabulary?
I was always curious how this is that really would-be borrowed off French when the English has one million conditions and you can French has actually, exactly what, possibly one hundred,100 tops?
Better, we’re straying of French content here as the we’re going to talk about the English vocabulary primarily, however, as it is a subject that i love, incur with me.
To this could be additional to nine,five hundred by-product conditions integrated since subentries
Let’s start with having your numbers best. Anybody who told you one to English possess 1 million terminology was demonstrably delusional (or a bit too biased?). While it’s difficult to number exactly how many words in any code, especially which have dialects such as for example English that perform this new words easily of the connecting a couple of conditions (was “hot-dog” one-word or two?), here’s what the fresh new Oxford Dictionary needs to state about it:
Rome invaded The united kingdomt just before France did, there were also the Danish, Norwegian, Greek and you may Dutch has an effect on, and then have English try a Germanic language in itself, closest for the endangered code Frisian
A few outlines later on, once having added a few form of terms and conditions (tech terms and conditions and such as for example) they end by “a quarter regarding a million distinctive line of English terminology”. Personally i think this is an authentic number. Of course, I’m sure one can possibly can 1 million when adding concatenated terminology (that’s “hot-dog”), terms off dialects (that are obviously perhaps not English because they have been dialects), terminology regarding old English and you may whatnot, you can arrive at a million, but why don’t we stay realistic here and you can let us follow English (no languages) and you may contemporary English (no out-of-date terminology), and you may what if 250,000 terms and conditions.
One of those conditions, a conventional guess to the level of words of French root is mostly about 50% (whilst realities may be nearer to 60% or even 70%, but let us stand old-fashioned about this question). Without, Really don’t separate French terms and conditions and you can Latin terms just like the certain statistics do, for two factors:
- Latin conditions found the fresh new English language courtesy French and you can France into the Old. French try simply the relaxed language if you are Latin try the fresh scholarly vocabulary, even so they was in fact spoken by the exact same some body (this is the of these who were educated) and those are identical individuals who produced each other to England.
- That it breakup of course comes from the point that discover a might to decrease the importance of French (as well as France) in the English language additionally the commonly while making English nearer to Latin. Funny how Centuries afterwards, Latin still has it state of mind off excellence and you can whatnot.
So far as French is worried, it appears to be more challenging to find an exact number. The actual internet step one.0 French Academy’s web site stays because the vague that you can and says how many conditions utilized in dictionaries (several with nothing in connection with the genuine amount from existing terms and conditions), almost every other websites in some places offer wide variety between 30,one hundred thousand so you’re able to a hundred,100000. So it huge difference happens probably from the proven fact that French language Talibans would rather strike by themselves right up than simply deal with terminology particularly “parking” just like the French conditions. Regardless, it goes without saying one French features less terms than simply English, and yes it is valid you to definitely English could be the language with the highest number of words worldwide.
Aren’t getting also assertive whether or not, it doesn’t mean anything in terms of fullness out-of a vocabulary and why don’t we not really think about going in the newest advice of “superiority”.
Exactly what it tells us is something and one point merely: English is actually an excellent “mutt language” selecting their root regarding a number of other languages; therefore is one of the dialects that accepts the quintessential easily overseas terminology and you may new conditions in its lexicon.