Foreign Languages

[Genevieve]

Haha.

I learnt Italian all through primary school. I think a language was compulsory at our high school until year 9, I chose Mandarin and continued for an extra semester in year 10 so I could go on the trip to China :P I can remember hello, goodbye and thankyou, and none of the characters.

I would say chinese BUT on the condition that music is banned. Have you ever heard a chinese pop song?

PopAsia is the best Sunday morning viewing.

[Uiblis]

Spanish is descended from Latin; both are Indo-European and Romance languages.

Therefore basically all of Spanish comes from Latin.

English, on the other hand, is a Germanic language. Really really really old English is mostly based on Germanic languages like Norse and the languages of tribes such as anglos and saxons. Latin also became a major influence and probably has the most roots.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but other languages like Spanish came into the picture much, much more recently than Latin or really old Germanic languages. So it really wouldn't be accurate to state that Spanish had the most influence on English, or had more influence than German or French.

And French and German tongues probably had more influence on English than Spanish ones.

And btw Neo's not really saying you're not real, but being an unwitting troll and annoying him to death. Just saying should think more about what you're posting.

I learned Mandarin and I'm fairly fluent in speaking but I'm terrible at writing and reading. :p
Can probably read about 30-40% of a page of words and write and use about 10-20% of them

[Muse]

I. Am. Not. A. Troll.

[Ashyra Nightwing]

I'd say German is a lot more similar to English than Spanish, and I've spoken to plenty of Germans who say the same.

[Uiblis]

Sorry, perhaps I shouldn't have said "troll."

Just in my honest opinion, you should make your posts more thought-out and less impulsive.
I'm not trying to insult you, just offer some constructive criticism.

[Shadow]

Neo's criticism was that you had cause and effect backwards (sideways?) in your post. You claimed that English had roots in Spanish because English words are often similar. This is patently not true. The similarity comes from the fact that both Spanish and English derive in part from Latin, hence the similarities. As was later pointed out, English actually has deeper roots in Germanic languages, and while it borrows from Latin in places, it is not a Latin derivative in the same way that Spanish is.

You then proceeded to completely miss this point, which is why he assumed you weren't real.

I am going to echo Uiblis - reading other people's posts a few times and making sure you get what they are trying to say before posting your thoughts is often a good idea in UMD. And I'll say again what I said a few times which you apparently missed or ignored. If constructive criticism offends you, this particular subforum is the wrong place to be.

[Muse]

I think my posts were misunderstood. I said that English and Spanish were alike because they both have Latin roots. And though we are also based off of german I was just saying that Spanish is more present in common speech

[Neobaron]

I think my posts were misunderstood. I said that English and Spanish were alike because they both have Latin roots. And though we are also based off of german I was just saying that Spanish is more present in common speech

No, you posts were just awful because you have a very narrow understanding of, basically, everything that you post about. 

"Spanish" is no more present in (actual, not vernacular) english than razor blades are present in a box of corn flakes.

You realize that in the formative years of modern english, that the French empire/state was the dominant force on the planet, and that literally every court in Europe spoke french?

"BUT THAT DUZ NOT MEEN THEY R SPEEK FRENH N ENGRISH"

Yes, it does actually because when the upper class (the ones with the education) are all speaking french and their native language as a necessary part of being part of high society, there is going to be an inevitable mixing. Hence a lot of our latin root words which are inherited from French.

Also your examples from church - your roman catholic church which effectively kept latin alive by using it in their texts and rituals - are inane.

[Gen. Volkov]

But English is probably the most useful and accessible because it's latin based

Well, the writing is a Roman alphabet, because the Germanic tribes had no real alphabet of their own, but English is a Germanic language. Lots of Latin influence, as well as French, but it is at root a Germanic language. Old English sounds a lot more like German than it does any romance language, or even modern English for that matter.

Not at all. But Spanish is very close to both latin and english. How many german words do we use or really even french.

Most of them. Latin and French have a heavy influence on English as well. We only use a smattering of Spanish words, most of which filter up from Mexico.

Ok honestly? I am completely real. But am I wrong?

Yes, you are wrong.

And though we are also based off of german I was just saying that Spanish is more present in common speech

No, it's not. The number of words we borrow from Spanish is miniscule compared to the number we either borrow or derive from French. French is literally a part of the English language, to the point that you don't even realize it when you speak it. On the other hand, we just borrow some words from Spanish. If you had taken French, you would probably realize this.

"During the Norman occupation, about 10,000 French words were adopted into English, some three-fourths of which are still in use today. This French vocabulary is found in every domain, from government and law to art and literature - learn some. More than a third of all English words are derived directly or indirectly from French, and it's estimated that English speakers who have never studied French already know 15,000 French words. (2) You can see 1,700 words that are identical in the two languages right here: True cognates."

http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/frenchinenglish.htm

Borrowing a few Spanish words vs one third of the English language. But yeah, Spanish is totally more common.

Oh, and I forgot to mention Latin, which makes up another 1/3 of the English language. Only about 1/3 of all the words in the English language actually come from Old English(or other German influence).

You realize that in the formative years of modern english, that the French empire/state was the dominant force on the planet, and that literally every court in Europe spoke french?

There is also the fact that England was conquered by the Norman French. I know you knew that, I am saying it for the benefit of others. (Muse)

[Muse]

I dont mean roots. I mean actual words that we use like the examples I gave. See?

[Ashyra Nightwing]

Your examples are terrible examples. 'Fritos' is a brand name. That's like saying that 'Cheetos' is an essential part of the English language.
i think there's a few words in the American dialect that come from Mexico just due to its proximity but that's it - ranch, burro etc. are words that don't get used in English anywhere outside a few parts of the USA.

[Uiblis]

I dont mean roots. I mean actual words that we use like the examples I gave. See?

Roots are actual examples of words...

Take ambulare, latin for "to walk," and look at all words coming from one root.

Ambulate, ambulatory, somnambulate, just naming a few.

There are far more than a simple example of spanish words, which aren't really in wide use, like volkov and ashy explained.

[Briar]

I've taken five years of German. Two years in High School and one in college.  I refused to learn Spanish because, admittedly, I'm opposed to the idea that Spanish is needed to obtain a job in the U.S because so many people immigrate into the country from Spanish speaking areas. Enough said.


And, not to attempt to kill the above discussion, but I believe Muse understands what had been said about the Spanish language. No one needs to rephrase the same concept yet another time.

[Neobaron]

And, not to attempt to kill the above discussion, but I believe Muse understands what had been said about the Spanish language. No one needs to rephrase the same concept yet another time.

I believe Muse understands what had been said about the Spanish language. No one needs to rephrase the same concept yet another time.

I believe Muse understands what had been said about the Spanish language.

I believe Muse understands what had been said.

I believe Muse understands

Muse understands

Muse understands

Muse understands

This is clearly the first thread you read.

I don't fault you.

[Muse]

I understand. I believe you have not completely understood me. name five totally unchanged german words that the average English speaker would use in day to day speak.
Neo. Really?