After three months of learning German on DuoLingo, I’m convinced it’s just poorly spelled English.
English is a Germanic language...
the french have a different word for everything.
George Orwell wrote an essay entitled “Politics and the English Language.” I recommend it for many reasons: not only is it a beautiful example of Orwell’s clear and precise writing, but also because it makes the point that English is composed of two entwined linguistic roots. One is French or Romance derived largely from Latin, and the other is Germanic, having nothing to do with Latin. He points out that in English we often have two words for the same thing, one French and the other Germanic. A pond or a point can be clear (Germanic) or lucid (French). That same pond thought it can be deep (Germanic) or profound (French). These synonyms are used adroitly by politicians. When they want their rhetoric to be strong and motivational, they use Germanic words. When they want to diffuse something they are describing, or blur an inconvenient truth, they will choose the French or Latin derived words, which, as Orwell put it, tend to cover over and obscure the facts like a blanket of fresh snow.
The reverse actually, since German predates English.
After taking two six-week immersion courses at Spangdahlem AB, I was sent TDY to Todendorf, a German AA range on the North Sea. We were the only Americans for 200 miles. Although I was assigned an interpreter, the German Base Commander told me , “LT, you can ditch your interpreter, your German is just fine.”
I lived in Trarben-Trarbach for 4 years. I spoke mostly German off base. My best friend was living with his future wife, and we all spoke German in her presence. When I visited them in Virginia last summer, I heard her speak English for the very first time. It had been 40+ years since our days in Germany.
English is a mutt language. It is derived from Latin, French and German.