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If you've ever wondered why English is described as a Germanic language, despite so much obvious French and Latin influence, this is why. Something like this is just not possible with (almost) 100% French/Latin vocabulary. The way thoughts are stacked up and laid out is, at heart, done like in the other Germanic tongues. In contradiction, the Latinate superstrate remains, to the present, an imported affectation, frequently incompletely comprehended by normally fluent audiences.


English is classified as a Germanic language by linguists not because of any real properties of English-as-she-is-spoke now but because of its genetic heritage.

It's a little more subjective, but I also kind of disagree with the rest of your comment. Uncleftish Beholding uses Germanic vocabulary but the grammar and structure is modern English, so the fact that it's possible doesn't reflect anything, one way or another, on whether "the way thoughts are stacked up and laid out" in modern English is Germanic or Latinate. Broadly, the way thoughts are stacked up and laid out is pretty similar in either family (compared to, say, Japanese), but if anything modern English resembles French in this aspect just as much as it resembles German, notably in how English and French have both become mostly analytic, whereas German has remained comparatively synthetic.

The reason Uncleftish Beholding is possible whereas a Latinate version isn't is simply because commonplace grammatical words (articles and the like) remained Germanic in English, even when there were similar enough equivalents in French. But, again, the origin of a language's commonplace grammatical words don't determine a language's classification - genetics do.


I tried to get ChatGPT to transform your post into only words of Latin origin but it could never quite get away from simpler common words that derive from Old English:

"Pertaining to inquiries concerning the categorization of English as a Germanic language, notwithstanding conspicuous French and Latin influences, such elucidates the rationale. An instance analogous to the aforementioned remains unachievable utilizing (approximately) 100% French/Latin terminology. The cognitional methodology's amassing and configuration remains intrinsically Germanic. In opposition, the Latinate stratum perseveres as an imported ornamentation, frequently insufficiently discerned via conventionally fluent recipients."


Heh. Still changed the last sentence a lot despite being intentionally all French-Latin to begin with, besides a couple unavoidable articles and prepositions.


I asked GPT4 to annotate the origin of each word and it did remarkably well:

---

If - Old English "gif" (Proto-Germanic origin)

you've - contraction of "you" (Old English "eow" - Proto-Germanic origin) and "have" (Old English "habban" - Proto-Germanic origin)

ever - Old English "ǣfre" (Proto-Germanic origin)

wondered - Old English "wundrian" (Proto-Germanic origin)

why - Old English "hwī" (Proto-Germanic origin)

English - Old English "Englisc" (Proto-Germanic origin)

is - Old English "is" (Proto-Germanic origin)

described - Latin "describere" (through Old French "descrire")

as - Old English "alswa" (Proto-Germanic origin)

a - Old English "ān" (Proto-Germanic origin) Germanic - Latin "germanicus" (through Old French "germanique")

language - Latin "lingua" (through Old French "langage")

despite - Latin "despectus" (through Old French "despit")

so - Old English "swā" (Proto-Germanic origin)

much - Old English "mycel" (Proto-Germanic origin)

obvious - Latin "obvius" (through Old French "ovious")

French - Old English "frencisc" (Proto-Germanic origin)

and - Old English "and" (Proto-Germanic origin)

Latin - Latin "Latinus" (through Old French "latin")

influence - Latin "influere" (through Old French "enfluence")

this - Old English "þis" (Proto-Germanic origin)

is - Old English "is" (Proto-Germanic origin)

why - Old English "hwī" (Proto-Germanic origin)

something - Old English "sum þing" (Proto-Germanic origin)

like - Old English "līc" (Proto-Germanic origin)

this - Old English "þis" (Proto-Germanic origin)

is - Old English "is" (Proto-Germanic origin)

just - Latin "iustus" (through Old French "juste")

not - Old English "nāwiht" (Proto-Germanic origin)

possible - Latin "possibilis" (through Old French "possible")

with - Old English "wiþ" (Proto-Germanic origin)

almost - Old English "eallmǣst" (Proto-Germanic origin)

100% - numeral and symbol, not applicable for etymology

French/Latin - see words 17 and 19 for etymology

vocabulary - Latin "vocabulum" (through Old French "vocabulaire")

the - Old English "þē" (Proto-Germanic origin)

way - Old English "weg" (Proto-Germanic origin)

thoughts - Old English "þōht" (Proto-Germanic origin)

are - Old English "ar" (Proto-Germanic origin)

stacked - Old Norse "stakkr" (Proto-Germanic origin)

up - Old English "upp" (Proto-Germanic origin)

and - Old English "and" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    laid - Old English "lecgan" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    out - Old English "ūt" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    is - Old English "is" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    at - Old English "æt" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    heart - Old English "heorte" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    done - Old English "dōn" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    like - Old English "līc" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    in - Old English "in" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    the - Old English "þē" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    other - Old English "ōþer" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    Germanic - Latin "germanicus" (through Old French "germanique")

    tongues - Old English "tunge" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    In - Old English "in" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    contradiction - Latin "contradictio" (through Old French "contradiccion")

    the - Old English "þē" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    Latinate - Latin "Latīnātus" (through Old French "latinat")

    superstrate - Latin "superstratus" (through Old French "superstrat")

    remains - Latin "remanēre" (through Old French "remanoir")

    to - Old English "tō" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    the - Old English "þē" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    present - Latin "praesent" (through Old French "present")

    an - Old English "ān" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    imported - Latin "importare" (through Old French "importer")

    affectation - Latin "affectatio" (through Old French "affectacion")

    frequently - Latin "frequens" (through Old French "frequent")

    incompletely - Latin "in" + "completus" (through Old French "incomplet")

    comprehended - Latin "comprehendere" (through Old French "comprendre")

    by - Old English "bī" (Proto-Germanic origin)

    normally - Latin "normalis" (through Old French "normal")

    fluent - Latin "fluens" (through Old French "fluent")

    audiences - Latin "audientia" (through Old French "audience")




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