English language: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:19, 1 March 2024

English originated in Anglo-Saxo

sounds that are added to lexemes to create new words
- including prefixes, suffixes and stem changes
  - pre-, -ly, -en, -s

from the Angles, a Germanic peoples who migrated to the British Islands in the 400s-600s AD.
- part of the Anglo-Saxon invasions
English is one of the "Anglo-Frisian" languages

Origins of Modern English
Germanic	Old French	Latin	Greek	Other	Proper Names
26%	29%	29%	6%	6%	4%

}

of the top 20 most common words, 7 are prepositions
the top 200 words constitute 50-60% of words used commonly used
- see: Is there a frequency of the use of different parts of speech in English? - Stack Exchange

#the

#be

#to

#and

#a

#in

#that

#have

#I

#it

the English language has a huge number of words that have multiple definitions
other languages may be more explicit with distinct words that English will cover with a single word.
for example:

in general, English consists of
- Adjectives: 25%
- Nouns: 50%
- Verbs: 7%
  - see: How Many Words are in the Oxford English Dictionary? * alphaDictionary

English Language Percent Frequency of Use of Parts of Speech
	Adjectives	Adverbs	Conjunctions	Determiners	Nouns	Prepositions	Pronouns	Verbs
Conversational	2.5%	5%	4.5%	4.5%	15%	5.5%	16.5%	12.5%
Formal/ Academic	10%	3%	5%	10%	30%	15%	4%	10%
	Adjectives	Adverbs			Nouns			Verbs

source: The 9 Parts of Speech in English | Ginseng English (from Biber, et. al., (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.)

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 |}
 == The most common words in English==
-#the
+{|
-#be
+| #the
-#to
+|-
-#and
+| #be
-#a
+|-
-#in
+| #to
-#that
+|-
-#have
+| #and
-#I
+|-
-#it
+| #a
+|-
+| #in
+|-
+| #that
+|-
+| #have
+|-
+| #I
+|-
+| #it
+|-
+}
 *from: [[wikipedia:Most_common_words_in_English|Most common words in English - Wikipedia]]
@@ Line 62: / Line 74: @@
 *of the top 20 most common words, 7 are <u>prepositions</u>
 *the top 200 words constitute 50-60% of words used commonly used
 **see: [https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/546759/is-there-a-frequency-of-the-use-of-different-parts-of-speech-in-english Is there a frequency of the use of different parts of speech in English? - Stack Exchange]
+|
 == English synonymous & part of speech word use ==