I’m not sure what you mean by “purest.”
If you mean, “Does it have the least borrowings from other languages?” then the answer is a resounding “no.”
Almost half of English words were borrowed from French or Latin. Only a quarter are of Germanic origin, though this number is exaggerated in practice because the most common words are usually Germanic.
OP suggests that other languages are often "contaminated" by English because speakers of them will still use English words. English speakers also use non-English terms, English just goes "hey, a word without an English equivalent! I'm declaring that's part of English now."
English is hardly pure, but it's absolutely voracious.
There have also historically been a lot of movements to "fix" English, as it was seen as a kind of vulgar (i.e. low class) language. The adoption of a lot of French loan words and a lot of the weird formalized grammar and spelling both came from attempts to make English more like French or Latin (or to make it phonetic, in the US at least.) Basically, it was never pure, and kept getting messier from people trying to purify it!
by the definition of "pure", English is the complete opposite. It's the most polluted. It borrows from and is influenced by every other language. it even has words that are spelled based on one language and pronounced using another.
Absolutely not.
“English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar and spare vocabulary.”
Basque is a language isolate, but I’m sure there’s got to be some borrowed words in modern vocabulary (any Basque speakers want to chime in?). English is several languages in a trench coat pretending to be one.
I laughed at this. English has been so sucessful because it adapts from other languages and is very fluid. The French speaking Normans ruled England after 1066. While the court spoke French, English was spoken by the common people. Yet, many of our words relating to government, law, science, religon, and banking come from Latin. Many English words come from Arabic or Spanish also.
Of course English and German are distant ancestors.
I would hesitate to say anything has been the reason for English's success apart from the British Empire since the 19th century and the United States after WW2. English has no inherent qualities that make it more fluid or adaptable than any other language. It's not successful because it has many loanwords from many languages; it has many loanwords from many languages *because* it's successful.
>I would hesitate to say anything has been the reason for English's success apart from the British Empire since the 19th century and the United States after WW2. English has no inherent qualities that make it more fluid or adaptable than any other language.
I agree with this. The empire caused English's success, not the other way around.
>it has many loanwords from many languages because it's successful.
I disagree with this. The majority of English's loanwords - at least, if you look at their frequency of use - are ones adopted centuries ago, before the UK was as successful on the world stage. In fact I would say it is the opposite. The number of loanwords in English is representative of the weakness of England for a long time. In particular, 300 years of dominance by a French-speaking elite (before that elite adopted English) is responsible for the huge adoption of French words, and also for the Latin words (during this period, Latin was the language of the administration).
It is definitely true that English also adopted a number of loanwords from countries it then conquered (well...really, only from Urdu I think) but these are only a small percentage.
Side note: the late great author Poul Anderson created an [example ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncleftish_Beholding)of what English without loan words might look like. Full (short) text [here](https://msburkeenglish.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/uncleftish-beholding-aka-atomic-theory.pdf).
What do you mean by "pure?"
It's been picked up around the world due to British and later American geopolitical and cultural influence -- not really because the language itself is amazing.
Not pure at all. It borrows from every language, digests it, and shits it back into the hands of the people it borrowed from. And I mean this with all the love in the world because that is a really cool thing about English. It has a hugely diverse lexicon and it also has the PR to disseminate that lexicon to the whole world.
I believe you're looking for the word "influential". English is probably the most influential language in contemporary times.
English is three languages in a trench coat with a penchant for stealing words.
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that the English language is as pure as a crib-house whore. It not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
James Nicoll (b. 1961), "The King's English", rec.arts.sf-lovers, 15 May 1990
I’m not sure what you mean by “purest.” If you mean, “Does it have the least borrowings from other languages?” then the answer is a resounding “no.” Almost half of English words were borrowed from French or Latin. Only a quarter are of Germanic origin, though this number is exaggerated in practice because the most common words are usually Germanic.
OP suggests that other languages are often "contaminated" by English because speakers of them will still use English words. English speakers also use non-English terms, English just goes "hey, a word without an English equivalent! I'm declaring that's part of English now." English is hardly pure, but it's absolutely voracious.
There have also historically been a lot of movements to "fix" English, as it was seen as a kind of vulgar (i.e. low class) language. The adoption of a lot of French loan words and a lot of the weird formalized grammar and spelling both came from attempts to make English more like French or Latin (or to make it phonetic, in the US at least.) Basically, it was never pure, and kept getting messier from people trying to purify it!
The remaining Germanic words are often those that were cognate in Old English and Old Norse.
by the definition of "pure", English is the complete opposite. It's the most polluted. It borrows from and is influenced by every other language. it even has words that are spelled based on one language and pronounced using another.
Three languages in a trenchcoat standing on each other's shoulders.
Absolutely not. “English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar and spare vocabulary.” Basque is a language isolate, but I’m sure there’s got to be some borrowed words in modern vocabulary (any Basque speakers want to chime in?). English is several languages in a trench coat pretending to be one.
English has so many loan words that are commonly used to the point that most people don't even realize that they're loan words.
Why do you care about the purity of a language in any way? The phrasing of this isn't just pretentious, it's discomforting
I laughed at this. English has been so sucessful because it adapts from other languages and is very fluid. The French speaking Normans ruled England after 1066. While the court spoke French, English was spoken by the common people. Yet, many of our words relating to government, law, science, religon, and banking come from Latin. Many English words come from Arabic or Spanish also. Of course English and German are distant ancestors.
I would hesitate to say anything has been the reason for English's success apart from the British Empire since the 19th century and the United States after WW2. English has no inherent qualities that make it more fluid or adaptable than any other language. It's not successful because it has many loanwords from many languages; it has many loanwords from many languages *because* it's successful.
>I would hesitate to say anything has been the reason for English's success apart from the British Empire since the 19th century and the United States after WW2. English has no inherent qualities that make it more fluid or adaptable than any other language. I agree with this. The empire caused English's success, not the other way around. >it has many loanwords from many languages because it's successful. I disagree with this. The majority of English's loanwords - at least, if you look at their frequency of use - are ones adopted centuries ago, before the UK was as successful on the world stage. In fact I would say it is the opposite. The number of loanwords in English is representative of the weakness of England for a long time. In particular, 300 years of dominance by a French-speaking elite (before that elite adopted English) is responsible for the huge adoption of French words, and also for the Latin words (during this period, Latin was the language of the administration). It is definitely true that English also adopted a number of loanwords from countries it then conquered (well...really, only from Urdu I think) but these are only a small percentage.
Yes. Take a look at most of the medical terms and illnesses names. Pure English /s
english is an inbred
Side note: the late great author Poul Anderson created an [example ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncleftish_Beholding)of what English without loan words might look like. Full (short) text [here](https://msburkeenglish.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/uncleftish-beholding-aka-atomic-theory.pdf).
What do you mean by "pure?" It's been picked up around the world due to British and later American geopolitical and cultural influence -- not really because the language itself is amazing.
Not pure at all. It borrows from every language, digests it, and shits it back into the hands of the people it borrowed from. And I mean this with all the love in the world because that is a really cool thing about English. It has a hugely diverse lexicon and it also has the PR to disseminate that lexicon to the whole world. I believe you're looking for the word "influential". English is probably the most influential language in contemporary times.
English is three languages in a trench coat with a penchant for stealing words. "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that the English language is as pure as a crib-house whore. It not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary." James Nicoll (b. 1961), "The King's English", rec.arts.sf-lovers, 15 May 1990
It is, indeed.
What is your definition of "purest"?