1. Origins of Language

2. Language Families

3. Indo-European Languages

4. Comparison Celtic Gothic Latin Greek Slavic Sanskrit māthir móðir
māter
mḗtēr
mati
mātár
trí
þreis
trēs
treĩs
trĭje
tráyaḥ
dēt
tunþus
dēns
odóntos
desná
dan
ser
staírnō
stēlla
astḗr
gvězda
stṛ
ainmm
namō
nōmen
ónoma
imę
nā́ma

5. European Language Families

6. Germanic Languages

7. Germanic Invasions
After the fall of Rome, Britain was invaded by Germanic tribes in the fifth century. The Angles and Saxons competed for power and fought off Viking invasions. Alfred the Great became the first King of England in 871 AD.

8. Germanic Languages Worldwide

9. Comparison Gothic German Dutch Swedish Afrikaans aplus Apfel appel
äpple
bōka
Buch
boek
bok
giban
geben
geven ge
gee
nahts
Nacht
nacht
natt
nag
snáiws
Schnee
sneeuw
snö
sneeu

10. Romance Languages

11. Romance Languages Worldwide

12. Comparison Latin Romanian Italian Spanish French aquam apă acqua agua
eau
canem
câine
cane
can
chien
lingua
limbă
lengua
langue
pater
padre
père
viridis
verde
vert

13. Norman Invasion of England

14. Modern English
Over time, other Latin words were added back into English during the Enlightenment and at other times, the preference was to reintroduce German words. While the British had a worldwide empire, many words from other languages were also introduced into our vocabulary. Today about 2 out of every 3 English words originate from a Romance language. This means there are many English words that share a similar root with words in Spanish.

15. English words of French Origin
Latin
Old French
English
Modern French
foresta
forest
forêt
castellum
castel
castle
château
bōs
buef
beef
bœuf
precaria
priere
prayer
prière