Introduction

English has been described as a “borrowing” language, and this is undeniably true. Although English is

called a Germanic language, probably only half the words in the dictionary are of Germanic origin. The
rest we have acquired from Latin and a score of other languages. English is thus a polyglot language that
has always borrowed words from other languages and always will, so that today we can say that almost
every language in the world has contributed at least a few words to English.
The Germans and Scandinavians, who invaded Britain after the Romans departed, each brought a
different dialect, sometimes even a different language. There were Angles and Saxons from what is now
Germany, Jutes and Danes from the land we now call Denmark, Frisians from the Netherlands, and
Vikings from Norway and Sweden. Although the invaders all strove to carve out separate kingdoms on the
island they had invaded, their languages gradually blended into a common tongue, but one with many
regional variations. This was the period that produced the richness and the extraordinary diversity of
regional accents and dialects that exist to this day in the British Isles.
The French that the Normans brought to England was not quite the same as the French spoken in other
parts of France. This is because the Normans were descendants of the “Northmen,” or Vikings, who had
settled in France. But their language was undeniably French, and it infused the Anglo-Saxon language with
a very heavy dose of Latin-based words.
More Latin words arrived during the medieval period, when Latin was the international language of
Europe, and the church, the universities, diplomacy, law, commerce, and many governments conducted
their business in Latin. With the renewed interest in the classics during the Renaissance and the surge in
literacy, Greek also became a subject of study and it too gave us many words.
The English language absorbed countless thousands of these new words, and while many of them were
adapted to fit English speech patterns or grammar, quite a few remained untouched. As the English people
became more involved in Continental affairs more new words filtered into their language, and if these
words appeared to have value they were eagerly adopted. This pattern of adopt and adapt can be traced
back to the earliest years and has served the language well.
War and trade also added large numbers of new words to the English language as ships manned by
English-speaking sailors, both commercial and naval, ventured far and wide and set up trading stations or
military outposts. With the growth of the British Empire, the pace accelerated and the English language
spread around the globe. Each contact with another culture and another language almost always resulted
in the acquisition of yet more new words. Meanwhile, in the New World, English-speaking North
Americans were adding their own fascinating collection of new words with new meanings and new
spellings.
For centuries, the English language has thus accumulated words rather like the mythical dragon adding
constantly to its hoard, no matter the origin of the treasure. Not satisfied with just one word to describe an
object or an action, the language eagerly snatched yet another and another. Today the English language has
more words than any of the Romance or Germanic languages and probably more than any other major
language.

(^) The Germans and Scandinavians, who invaded Britain after the Romans departed, each brought a different
dialect, sometimes even a different language.
There is no disputing the fact that English is the most important language in the world today. It is an