Which Languages Are The Closest To English?

The humans of today are very different from each other in every aspect. But if we look at the earliest humans, they were very similar. It can be concluded that people had the same origins, but they developed different characteristics over time. The same is true for all the modern-day vernaculars. Today, English speakers may not recognize all the words in German. But there was a time when people had similar vocabularies. Even today, we can learn about the connections between different things. By finding out which is the closest language to English, we can learn about its origins and how it reached its current form. Check out the languages closest to Spanish.

The English Language

English is a West Germanic language. It has over 400 million native speakers. It developed over 1400 years to reach its modern form. Old English was first spoken in early medieval England. It is an official language in 67 countries. Due to its popularity, many tongues have borrowed loanwords from English. The pronunciation of words and phrases is what defines different accents of English. The accents of Britain and Scotland are very different from that of the US. You can also hear multiple accents within a country, as is the case in Britain.

The English alphabet has been derived from the Latin script. There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. Old Norse, Greek, and Latin have influenced English. Other West Germanic languages have also influenced English to some extent. English words have become a part of the everyday vernacular of people all over the world. The credit for this goes to the English movies and TV shows that are popular everywhere. The English of today has many different dialects and accents. American dialects and accents are more popular in the world because of the popularity of US movies. The majority of English dialects are mutually intelligible.

What is the Closest Language to English?

Understanding the connection between different tongues is not just important for linguists but also for those who want to learn foreign languages. There are a lot of different ways to figure out the connection between different tongues. You can compare their terms of vocabulary or their grammatical structure. The forms of verbs are also important when studying different tongues. But it is almost impossible for two vernaculars to be exactly the same. Over time, every tongue develops characteristics that make it unique.

English speakers are all over the world, and they know that knowing this tongue gives them an advantage. But being bilingual or multilingual can open a lot of doors for you. However, not everyone has the time to learn difficult languages, so people look for options similar to their native tongue.

Here are the closest languages to English:

Frisian Languages

North Frisian, East Frisian, and West Frisian are the three types of tongues spoken by the Frisian people. They are spoken in the Netherlands and Germany. Although the members of the Anglo-Frisian group are not mutually intelligible with English, they do share a lot of similarities with it. In Netherlands and Germany, the Frisian tongues have been influenced by the native languages. But they are very easy to learn for English speakers.

With only 500,000 speakers, Frisian tongues are not very popular. The Frisian dialects are not dying or threatened yet. But if their separate identity is not protected, they can be at risk in the future. The fact that many people have only heard of them because of their similarity to English also does not help. But they have been officially recognized in the Friesland province of the Netherlands. Such steps by the governments of the Netherlands and Germany can help protect these languages.