The German Language

[Regina]

Alex is right. Most of our Latin roots came in from Old French because English wasn't considered "pretty" enough compared to French. That kind of language shaming is also part of the reason that even the Germanic parts of English have so many silent letters that weren't there prior to this period (the "u" in the word "build" wasn't always there, for example). They were literally just adding letters to their words to make them prettier on paper like French words.

I think in these cases, it's just because the pronunciation has shifted over time, but the spelling has stayed the same. I know this is the case with words like "five" and "time" for example, which used to be pronounced "feeveh" and "teemeh" in old and maybe middle English. It's just that the "eh" sound on the end is now silent and the "I" sound has shifted.

It could be that "Build" used to actually be pronounced "bwild", especially considering both Dutch and German words for "build" have a u/w sounded letter in them.

[Alex K]

Good, but not as good as what Italian tourist regions came up with in the 70ies and early 80ies. They actually managed to turn innocent words into vulgarities sometimes. Especially funny when displayed in Neon letters over a shop. As seen in Lignano where a shop owner prudly presented Arsch Artikel - I guess, the similarity to Arse is obvious.

Is there German word for odd foreign German like Engrish?

Not that I'm aware. There is the word "Denglisch" as a portmanteau of Deutsch and Englisch, but that is reserved for gratuitous use of English words (correctly or often, not) in German sentences for example to make them sound cooler.

[abaris]

It could be that "Build" used to actually be pronounced "bwild", especially considering both Dutch and German words for "build" have a u/w sounded letter in them.

How so? Bauen has no spoken U. Only if you take it back into medieval times. Back then, the "au" didn't exist and was pronounced as U.

[Redbeard The Pink]

Alex is right. Most of our Latin roots came in from Old French because English wasn't considered "pretty" enough compared to French. That kind of language shaming is also part of the reason that even the Germanic parts of English have so many silent letters that weren't there prior to this period (the "u" in the word "build" wasn't always there, for example). They were literally just adding letters to their words to make them prettier on paper like French words.

I think in these cases, it's just because the pronunciation has shifted over time, but the spelling has stayed the same. I know this is the case with words like "five" and "time" for example, which used to be pronounced "feeveh" and "teemeh" in old and maybe middle English. It's just that the "eh" sound on the end is now silent and the "I" sound has shifted.

It could be that "Build" used to actually be pronounced "bwild", especially considering both Dutch and German words for "build" have a u/w sounded letter in them.

There are instances of what you're describing, but "build" used to be spelled "bild" in English, and it's not the only example of words changing spelling under linguistic peer pressure; it was just the most readily recalled.

[Rhondazvous]

Then again, as a writer, I like using archaic English words such as “fortnight.”

Interesting you call "fortnight" archaic, that word is still commonly used in The UK

You can see the beginnings of language shift have happened in the differences between British and American English. A few centuries of relative separation has already made some differences in the words we use. It just hasn't happened at the same speed that Medieval English and German emerged, because we haven't been as isolated from eachother.

It'll probably stop happening altogether in the modern world, because we have international media and constant contact between different nationalities now. British and American English have been getting more similar in the last few decades, not less. The same can probably be said for Iberian Spanish and forms of Latin American Spanish.

What part of the UK are you in? Your name seems to have a french spelling, but I suspect you are not in France.

Growing up in Washington D. C., I didn’t realize that the vowels we used were actually British. My mother’s sister is my aunt, not my ant.

There were regional differences in the states as well. As close by as Philadelphia there was a marked difference in pronouncing the first syllable of words like daughter (door {without the final r}, dah) and water (war, wah).

I think the differences between British and American English was/is also political. After the American Revolution Americans may have felt a need to distance themselves, just as a child feels a need to distance himself from his parents by doing things differently. Then when the child becomes an adult, he can face the parent as an equal so there’s no more need to rebel.

[abaris]

After the American Revolution Americans may have felt a need to distance themselves, just as a child feels a need to distance himself from his parents by doing things differently. Then when the child becomes an adult, he can face the parent as an equal so there’s no more need to rebel.

That's giving them too much and too little credit. Dialects simply developed in certain regions. Probably over a very long time, way before the revolution. Nothing political about it, just people talking to each other and developing a particular way of speaking. People sound very differently in the deep South than they sound in upstate New York. And even that is simplistic.

[Rhondazvous]

It could be that "Build" used to actually be pronounced "bwild", especially considering both Dutch and German words for "build" have a u/w sounded letter in them.

How so? Bauen has no spoken U. Only if you take it back into medieval times. Back then, the "au" didn't exist and was pronounced as U.

Is it possible he means the letter u is pronounced as w. this is often the case in English words such as quack, quite, question, quote? Though I tried pronouncing bw and my lips still hurts. Ouch.

[Rhondazvous]

After the American Revolution Americans may have felt a need to distance themselves, just as a child feels a need to distance himself from his parents by doing things differently. Then when the child becomes an adult, he can face the parent as an equal so there’s no more need to rebel.

That's giving them too much and too little credit. Dialects simply developed in certain regions. Probably over a very long time, way before the revolution. Nothing political about it, just people talking to each other and developing a particular way of speaking. People sound very differently in the deep South than they sound in upstate New York. And even that is simplistic.

Would you say there was a confluence of things including politics? Is it not possible that rebellion against “the king’s English” may have played a role? I’m not saying that was the only reason, and perhaps not the primary reason, but to say that it played no role at all is to ignore the dynamics of the British/American relationship.

[Regina]

Interesting you call "fortnight" archaic, that word is still commonly used in The UK

You can see the beginnings of language shift have happened in the differences between British and American English. A few centuries of relative separation has already made some differences in the words we use. It just hasn't happened at the same speed that Medieval English and German emerged, because we haven't been as isolated from eachother.

It'll probably stop happening altogether in the modern world, because we have international media and constant contact between different nationalities now. British and American English have been getting more similar in the last few decades, not less. The same can probably be said for Iberian Spanish and forms of Latin American Spanish.

What part of the UK are you in? Your name seems to have a french spelling, but I suspect you are not in France.

Growing up in Washington D. C., I didn’t realize that the vowels we used were actually British. My mother’s sister is my aunt, not my ant.

There were regional differences in the states as well. As close by as Philadelphia there was a marked difference in pronouncing the first syllable of words like daughter (door {without the final r}, dah) and water (war, wah).

I'm from Birmingham, but irrelevant : I spell my name like this just because I like the Frencheaux spelling, it's not a regional British thing.

Northern British people say "Ant" instead of "Aunt" as well sometimes. They also say "laff" for "laugh" like Americans do, although they do it with an even shorter, harsher "a" sound that Americans don't seem able to make. British people, in all regions, have a really hard quick "a" sound that you'd hear in words like "cat" or "tacky", but American's don't seem able to form it the way we can. When I hear Americans say "a" it always comes out more like a breathy or nasaly "e" or "ah".

I wasn't aware the spellings had changed in English since Medieval times though, I thought it was all the same standardised written English by like the 1400s.

[Dystopia]

I can find similarities between English and Portuguese as well, being a native speaker of the latter. I think most languages may have some similarities because even with a predominant ancestor you still have small bits that are affected by outsiders. That's totally fine.