Anglish: The English Language at its "Purest"

The English language has been on one hell of a journey. It's a Germanic language, but it's got plenty of loanwords from other languages. Over half of the vocabulary comes from French, Latin, and Greek. But what if it didn't? What if the only words we used came from Germanic and Anglo-Saxon roots?

This is how we get Anglish, English but without any "foreign" words. Sometimes it's also called Root English, as it's English going back to its roots. The thing is, Anglish can't be elegent, it can only be swanky. So how did we get here?

Some Greek and Latin words entered Old English thanks to Christianity and the Norman invasion in the 11th Century meant the upper echelons of society spoke French, giving words with French roots more prestige than their Anglo-Saxon equivalents.

This didn't become an issue until the 16th and 17th centuries when Middle English was becoming Modern English. Some writers at the time borrowed words with Latin roots, since Latin was used in academia, in order to sound fancy. Other writers hated the pointlessness of using words that already had perfectly adequate English equivalents with Anglo-Saxon roots.

Of course, some of the words borrowed into English around this time are still commonly used, like dismiss, celebrate, encyclopedia, commit, capacity and ingenious. Others disappeared from use as quickly as they were introduced, such as expede.

A fine specimen for birdlorists.

In the 19th Century, the writer William Barnes went so far as to create his own Anglo-Saxon words as counterparts to the commonly used Latin ones. Barnes preferred using the word birdlore to ornithology and was much more bendsome (flexible) in his use of a pure English language. Overkill, perhaps?

George Orwell wasn't a fan of writers using Latin words either. In fact, he went so far to say that "Bad writers [...] are haunted by the notion that Latin or Greek words are grander than Saxon ones".

Personally, I don't think we need to avoid all Latin and Greek words, the English language has some beautiful words thanks to these languages (and their derivatives). However, I don't automatically think you're fancy because you use Latin words, there's nothing wrong with Anglo-Saxon and Germanic words, either!

What do you think? Shall we keep English "pure" or do you like our elegant Latin and Greek words? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

How French Gave English Its Sophisticated Words

If you're familiar with the history of the British Isles, you'll be aware that before taking the English language on tour and invading 90% of the world (with varying degrees of success), the British were the whipping boys of Europe and every empire across Europe had a go of taking over Great Britain. This helps explain why the English language is widespread and has a diverse lexicon with roots in many different languages.

What I find most interesting is the relationship between the origin of a word in English and its register. Words from Anglo-Saxon have taken their place in the lower registers of the English language, while "classier" high-register words come from both Latin and French. This all comes down to how the words were being used when they first made their way into the language.

Hastings, the site of the famous battle, in the 19th century.

By the time the Normans invaded in 1066, Anglo-Saxon words were already commonly used. The Normans brought their own language with them, and since they had just taken over the country, they decided that they would be part of the aristocracy instead of falling in line alongside the peasants, serfs, and labourers up and down the country.

Because of this, farmers and the lower classes kept their Anglo-Saxon words whilst the aristocracy and ruling classes consisted of William the Conqueror and his Norman-speaking mates. The Norman language became Anglo-Norman (also known as Anglo-French), which was only spoken by the upper echelons of medieval society while, in a humorous turn of events, the posh people in France at the time were actually speaking Latin.

The most obvious impact of these sociolects is prevalent in food, especially in terms of meat. As a lasting testimony to this, most English words for animals that are eaten come from Anglo-Saxon, while the terms for their meat come from French and Latin roots. For example, if you want some "beef" (from the Norman beof) you'll have to find a "cow" (cū in Old English, which has roots in Anglo-Saxon). "Sheep" is from the Old English scēap, while you eat "mutton", which is from the Old French term moton. Dēor in Old English became "deer" in Modern English, but "venison" came from venesoun in Old French.

This garden in Tokyo would definitely
raise the value of your property.

There are also plenty of non-culinary words that show how lower register words from Anglo-Saxon have higher-register equivalents of Latin and French origin. For example, you could ask your friend to buy ;you a drink (all Anglo-Saxon roots) or you could enquire of your colleague about purchasing a beverage (all French or Latin roots). In the UK, it's usually cheaper to buy a house with a yard (Anglo-Saxon) than one with a garden (French).

While French and Latin words are commonly thought to be of a higher register, there are a few examples of seemingly-sophisticated words that are of Anglo-Saxon origins with the lower-register equivalent being French. Take hue instead of colour and uncouth instead of rude, for example. However, these examples are much fewer than to the contrary.

The Language Of Law

If you've ever read a contract, had the horrendous misfortune to deal with bureaucracy, or had a run-in with the law, you'll have come across the wonderful linguistic minefield that is legal language and jargon. Today we'll be looking at legal English as it has been used in the United Kingdom.

Once the Romans conquered England, Latin became the de facto language of the law in the country. Though it was later on that Latin would noticeably change day-to-day English, it did take root in the legal system earlier since it was the Romans who ruled and enforced the law.

The opening page of the Law of Æthelberht

After the Romans left England, the Anglo-Saxons brought their own rules and, as a result, law was discussed, explained, and enforced using Anglo-Saxon or Old English. By the beginning of the 7th century, it was the Law of Æthelberht that established the rules of the Kingdom of Kent. These published rules were indeed written in what is now known as Old English. This was the first example of published law in a Germanic language, and one of the earliest examples of written Old English. With the arrival of the Normans, the language of the legal system in England took a turn. Anglo-Saxon was removed and Anglo-French became the language of legal proceedings. Though records were still kept in Latin, English terms managed to find their way into the lexicon of law. In terms of style, since words of French and Latin origin were considered to be of a higher register than those of Germanic origins, French and Latin words were often preferred in a legal setting over their Germanic counterparts. That said, lawyers would still provide word pairings from both etymological roots in order to make things clearer.