Ask a Question

(Create a thread)
Go Back   Spanish language learning forums > Other Languages > Other Languages
Register Help/FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search PenpalsTranslator


Deutsch and Englisch Schwestersprachen - German and English are Germanic Languages

 

Being the language lovers that we are... A place to talk about, or write in languages other than Spanish and English.


Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 28, 2013, 11:30 AM
Villa's Avatar
Villa Villa is offline
Emerald
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Corona, California
Posts: 879
Native Language: inglés y español).
Villa is on a distinguished road
Deutsch and Englisch Schwestersprachen - German and English are Germanic Languages

My grandfather spoke German. In fact he got in trouble
for speaking German on the school playground. His
grandmother was from Austria. His grandfather was
from Germany. On my mother's side there are people
from Germany too. I have learned 5 languages but
not German which is part of my heritage. So how hard is
it to learn German and what is the relationship between
German and English?

German and English are both Germanic languages: that is, they
developed from a common parent language. English and German
are of course now separate languages but they still share 35%
common Germanic vocabulary and many similar grammatical
structures. In addition, over the centuries both German and of
course English borrowed many words from French and Latin, and
today German like Spanish borrows words and expressions from
English. Because of their similarities, German and English can be
considered sister languages. Learning German will be easier if you
look for similarities with English.

Guten Morgen. Kommen hier. Deutsch lernen.
Good morning. Come here. Learn German. (German learn.)

Last edited by Villa; November 28, 2013 at 11:49 AM.
   
Get rid of these ads by registering for a free Tomísimo account.
  #2  
Old November 28, 2013, 02:30 PM
Premium's Avatar
Premium Premium is offline
Pearl
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Vienna, Austria
Posts: 451
Native Language: German, Serbian & Albanian
Premium is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Villa View Post
My grandfather spoke German. In fact he got in trouble
for speaking German on the school playground. His
grandmother was from Austria. His grandfather was
from Germany. On my mother's side there are people
from Germany too. I have learned 5 languages but
not German which is part of my heritage. So how hard is
it to learn German and what is the relationship between
German and English?

German and English are both Germanic languages: that is, they
developed from a common parent language. English and German
are of course now separate languages but they still share 35%
common Germanic vocabulary and many similar grammatical
structures. In addition, over the centuries both German and of
course English borrowed many words from French and Latin, and
today German like Spanish borrows words and expressions from
English. Because of their similarities, German and English can be
considered sister languages. Learning German will be easier if you
look for similarities with English.

Guten Morgen. Kommen hier Komm her. Deutsch lernen(If you mean it as an exclamation, it's "Lern Deutsch").
Good morning. Come here. Learn German. (German learn.)
I can't tell how hard it is to learn German. Many complain about the grammar(articles, cases and some useless rules), though. I wouldn't necessarily say that English and German share many similarities, neither that their vocabulary have that much in common. I remember learning English vocabulary was a pain in the a**, couldn't find many words that are almost the same.
Though I'd say that most native German speakers don't have much trouble with some grammatical structures. It's definitely not Dutch, which you'd compare with Spanish and Portuguese.
__________________
I'd be very thankful, if you'd correct my mistakes in English/Spanish.
  #3  
Old November 28, 2013, 06:07 PM
zuma022 zuma022 is offline
Pearl
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 125
Native Language: Swiss German
zuma022 is on a distinguished road
I've known both English and Spanish native speakers who learned German and I wouldn't call it easy judging by their experience. It's definitely a stretch to call them sister languages. They have the same origin and a lot if the grammar and vocab will be somewhat familiar, unlike learning Arabic or Japanese or something completely different. Having said that, it's not a terribly difficult language either. The cases are probably the biggest stumbling block, but with only four I think it's manageable.
__________________
Por favor, corrijan mis errores. ¡Gracias!
  #4  
Old November 29, 2013, 10:57 AM
Villa's Avatar
Villa Villa is offline
Emerald
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Corona, California
Posts: 879
Native Language: inglés y español).
Villa is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by zuma022 View Post
I've known both English and Spanish native speakers who learned German and I wouldn't call it easy judging by their experience. It's definitely a stretch to call them sister languages. They have the same origin and a lot if the grammar and vocab will be somewhat familiar, unlike learning Arabic or Japanese or something completely different. Having said that, it's not a terribly difficult language either. The cases are probably the biggest stumbling block, but with only four I think it's manageable.
Gracias por tus comentarios.

Last edited by Villa; November 29, 2013 at 04:19 PM.
Closed Thread

 

Link to this thread
URL: 
HTML Link: 
BB Code: 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Site Rules

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
[German] Ich möchte Deutsch üben Tomisimo Other Languages 69 September 04, 2013 02:46 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:17 PM.

Forum powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X