History of The English Language

[Iloko]

Which influence gave the English language most of its beauty in your opinion? I think the Norman French might have contributed a great deal to the English language by making it more beautiful as well as making it a more eloquent language overall. What do you think?

[N1019]

Heavy French/Latin influence since 1066 has certainly expanded it greatly, although I'm not sure it has made English more "beautiful". Old English was probably more consistent but also complicated in terms of grammar. I can't honestly say I want those complications back. In any case, they were replaced with other complications that didn't exist in Old English. The core English vocabulary is still mostly Germanic in origin.

[Jägerstaffel]

Norse and Norman influence killed off many of the suffixes in English and helped drive forward a tendency towards word order in a sentence. I think this lead to the need for more creative vocabulary to get the point across.

I absolutely love the earthiness of the original Old English words. These are the type of words that native English speakers learn first and roll off the tongue without much thought. The type of word one might cry out in pain and in pleasure. Norman French, Latin and Greek have given English more flourish and nuance though and their effect cannot be undervalued.

[Carol97]

I love Latin influence on English. It gave English words both power and beauty. The example I can think of right now is the word invincible, which comes from Latin invictus. I find Latin words incredibly strong and melodious, and they can make any language beautiful.

[Neon Knight]

I think it is the combination of Germanic and Latin words that make English such a good language for poetry and literature.