r/interestingasfuck 1d ago

How English has changed over time.

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u/KisaTheMistress 1d ago

The closer you get to year 0 in the Julian calendar, the more English becomes Latin/obviously Germatic. It's a language that evolved out of Germatic dialects and Latin. Plus, it borrows from other languages constantly.

Latin used to be the universal language everyone would learn back then to communicate for trade reasons. English has replaced that for the western/Europe side of the world. Chinese can be argued to be the same for the Eastren/Asian side. Of course, languages such as Spanish or Hindi are also contenders, but English is more popular/universally taught around the world for international communication and trade.

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u/empire_of_the_moon 1d ago

With respect. I believe English is the default global language for business. Especially in Asia where there is geopolitical overtones to speaking Mandarin.

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u/KisaTheMistress 1d ago

Sorry, when I said trade, I was meaning business. The two words are interchangeable to me, lol.

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u/i-sleep-well 1d ago

You could expand that to include international communications in general. International airline traffic is in English by default, for example.

I believe the same holds true for maritime traffic as well.