Table of Contents
1) 1. Frisian – most similar language to English phonetically
2) 2. French — easier for English speakers to learn than most
3) 3. Spanish — also easier to learn than most
The language itself is truly unique — in fact, no language currently in major use is fully or even remotely similar to English in its spoken form. Similarities are more common and noticeable in written form.
The English language as we know it today was born from Germanic Medieval English and Latin Norman, which is an obsolete version of modern French. For about 300 years beginning in the 11th Century, Norman was the language of English courts.
The two came together when French was the prestige language of Anglo-Norman nobility prior to the 17th Century.Germanic words are more used in spoken, everyday conversation for the essentials of life and Norman words are used in more formal and upper-crust circles.
Modern English essentially combines Germanic words with those of Norman/French/Latin origin. The majority of English grammar, at least as spoken in traditional modern English, is of Norman origin.
We are answeringthe question of the most similar language to English by breaking it down into two. First, what is the most phonetically similar, and second, which languages are often the easiest to learn. That said, there are the threemost, It is hard to distinguish exactly which is the most similar language to English, but all three have many factors in common.
1. Frisian – most similar language to English phonetically
Frisian (the Netherlands’ 2nd official language) is phonetically the closest language to Modern English and is mutually intelligible with Olde English. This isn’t surprising since the Anglo-Saxons and the Frisians had recent common ancestors. However, a Modern Englishman would only be able to guess the meaning of some spoken Frisian words used in everyday life.
2. French — easier for English speakers to learn than most
French has 17 verb forms compared to just 12 in English and gendered nouns (le crayon, la table). French Pronunciation is generally much more difficult than English due to the added vowel sounds and incessant use of silent letters. Still, because both are romance languages derived from Latin origin, basic vocabulary in French is often very familiar to English.
3. Spanish — also easier to learn than most
To the naked eye, Spanish is probably the most similar language to English. There are many similarities and even expectancies of what an English word will look like when translated into Spanish. Artificial is the same in both languages as written, though the pronunciation is different. Combustion andCombustiónis another good example.
In other cases, it’s not so easy. Bathroom looks and sounds nothing like baño.How much looks and sounds nothing like cuantos.
Live Lingua offers a free trial lesson in eleven different languages, taken via Skype on your schedule. We’d love to help you work towards your language learning goals. Sign up here!
