![]() Note that words originally came from Latin or Greek are almost always identical in German and English (and many other languages for that matter): This also becomes apparent when comparing other Germanic languages such as Dutch and Norwegian with German. They also distinguish High German from other Germanic languages, such as Low German and English, which did not undergo the same shifts. These changes had a significant impact on the development of the German language and its modern pronunciation. This is why we see the change from English apple to German Apfel, ship -> Schiff, speak -> sprechen, church -> Kirche, etc. The shift involved a change in the pronunciation of certain consonant sounds, which affected all Germanic languages to some extent, but was most significant in the High German dialects. The High German Consonantal Shift, also known as the Second Sound Shift, refers to a series of sound changes that occurred in the history of the German language during the transition from Old High German to Middle High German, around the 6th to the 8th centuries AD. One of the main difference between English and German is due to the so-called High German Consonantal Shift. This is going to get a bit nerdy, so please feel free to skip ahead. Sometimes spelling and meaning vary slightly, since both German and English evolved slightly differently, but it’s still often easy to spot the similarity. Many German and English words are cognates because they have a common ancestor in the Germanic language family.įor example, the English word “water” and the German word “Wasser” are cognates because they have a common ancestor in the Proto-Germanic language. Cognates are words in different languages that share the same origin and have similar meanings. One of the reasons why German and English share so many words is because of cognates. Over time, Old English evolved into Middle English, which was heavily influenced by French, and eventually into Modern English, which is the language we speak today. Old English was heavily influenced by the Germanic languages spoken by the Anglo-Saxon tribes that had migrated to England from Continental Europe. During the Middle Ages, German was the lingua franca of Central Europe, and it was widely spoken throughout the region.Įnglish, on the other hand, is a descendant of the Old English language, which was spoken in England during the early Middle Ages. This language evolved over time and eventually became what is now known as Old High German. The earliest form of German was spoken by the Germanic tribes that inhabited Central Europe during the Iron Age. The German language, like English, is a West Germanic language. To understand why German and English share so many words, it’s important to look at the history of the two languages.
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