Why is English the odd one out?

October 26, 2015
Why is English the odd one out?

Every language has its quirks. It’s part of what makes linguistics such a fascinating area of study. Many languages also share a great deal of commonality, having descended from the same linguistic family tree. 

The language family tree

The Romance languages, for example, include Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Catalan and Romanian. All descended from Latin, these languages share many similarities. 

English also has a great many Latin influences in its words and grammar, but is actually a West Germanic language. This is why, despite many words in English having similar counterparts in the Romance languages, there are numerous English words that considered to be the odd ones out when compared with other languages that are used in geographically close locations. 

Some examples

Here are a few great examples of why English is the odd one out. 

English word French Spanish Catalan Portuguese Italian Romanian
Good Bien Bien Bo Boa Buona Bun
Bird Oiseau Pájaro Ocell Pássaro Uccello Pasăre
Christmas Noël Navidad Nadal Natal Natale Crăciun
Water Eau Agua Aigua Água Acqua Apă
Fish Poisson Pescado Peix Peixe Pesce Pește
Tree Arbre Árbol Arbre Ávore Albero Copac
Dog Chien Can Gos Cão Cane Câine

 

In many of these examples, the English word has far more in common with German, Dutch and Danish than it does with the languages of closer countries. For those living in England, this creates a linguistic divide between England and its nearest European neighbours. The same is true for those living in the US, where the majority of inhabitants in Central and South America speak Romance languages. 

Final thoughts

Such linguistic differences are part of the attraction of learning a new language. Discovering and understanding them, as well as uncovering unexpected similarities is an exciting and fascinating journey. 

Which are your favourite English words that vary wildly from those in the Romance languages? Let us know in the comments. 

By Ofer Tirosh

Ofer Tirosh is the founder and CEO of Tomedes, a language technology and translation company that supports business growth through a range of innovative localization strategies. He has been helping companies reach their global goals since 2007.

Share:

STAY INFORMED

Subscribe to receive all the latest updates from Tomedes.

Post your Comment

I want to receive a notification of new postings under this topic

GET IN TOUCH

Need expert language assistance? Inquire now

Do It Yourself

I want a free quote now and I'm ready to order my translations.

Do It For Me

I'd like Tomedes to provide a customized quote based on my specific needs.

Want to be part of our team?