Is it true?

[v0031]

English actually originates from what is now called northwest Germany and the Netherlands.

[The Dowager Mod]

Partly true, English is Germanic.

[RaphaelDLG]

English is structurally a Germanic language; however, most of the non-basic vocabulary comes from Latin and Greek via French.

[Ban my account ffs!]

There is also the fun juxtaposition of the French words being seen as proper and higher class than the Germanic words... especially when it comes to agriculture.

For example... manure (French) is acceptable.  Sh**t (German) is not.

The animal is a cow (German).  Its meat/flesh (German) is beef (French).

The animal is a pig or swine (German).  Its meat is pork (French).

Without the Norman invasion we might be eating swine flesh and spreading sh**t on the fields.

If you are interested in what English might be like without non-Germanic influences, you can check this out:

http://anglish.wikia.com/wiki/Main_leaf

[RaphaelDLG]

There is also the fun juxtaposition of the French words being seen as proper and higher class than the Germanic words... especially when it comes to agriculture.

For example... manure (French) is acceptable.  Sh**t (German) is not.

The animal is a cow (German).  Its meat/flesh (German) is beef (French).

The animal is a pig or swine (German).  Its meat is pork (French).

Without the Norman invasion we might be eating swine flesh and spreading sh**t on the fields.

If you are interested in what English might be like without non-Germanic influences, you can check this out:

http://anglish.wikia.com/wiki/Main_leaf

That's an interesting wiki, thanks for the post!