English is Weird: How Our Language Has Developed & Why It Matters To Writers

There are many jokes about the quirks of the English language. For instance, if pronounced using alterations of the standards rules, fish is spelt ghoti and potato can be spelt ghoughphtheightteeau. 

Cough, rough, though, and through do not rhyme, but pony and bologna do. There are more exceptions to the i before e rule than there are instances when it applies. In short, English is weird! But have you ever wondered why that is? 

English, as it turns out, has a complicated history and somewhat of an identity crisis.

English is Not a Romantic (or Romanic) Language

Because the roots of English grammar are in its West Germanic ancestors - the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons - it is considered a Germanic language. But one key difference relates to syntax or the order of words. Romanic/Latinate languages are primarily synthetic, which means the endings determine the relationships between words, rather than articles and prepositions. Germanic languages are analytic, so the endings are less important than the order of words and those articles and prepositions.

The direct Latin influence in the formation of the language is quite minimal and limited primarily to jargon and church terms, even though, as we will see, much of the vocabulary of English is Latinate in origin because of borrowings from other languages.  

Although Technically Germanic, English Vocabulary is Mostly French

If you're confused, you're not alone. English has a complicated relationship with other languages, particularly other languages in Europe. 

After those West Germanic tribes took over England, their language (which we now call Old English) was king until 1066, when William of Normandy invaded. Feudal laws required that all lords go to the battlefield to fight; consequently, all of the English lords went to their slaughter. 

For 250 years, French dominated the language of the upper class and most commerce. The English later reclaimed their language, but it was forever changed; the French influence led to what we now call Middle English. Today, almost 30% of the vocabulary derives from French, compared to the 25% derived from Old English.

English Has a Lot of Latin Words, But It's Not Latinate

For a long time, English was something of a free-for-all. There was no standard grammar nor were there even rules for spelling. Authors like Shakespeare spelt words however they felt like, and in some cases, an author might spell the same word several different ways in the same piece.

Around 1650, perturbed academics decided to organise the mess that was English. To do this, they added words from what they thought was the perfect language: Latin. From there, scientific, technical, or otherwise academic terms were sourced from Latin, and those Latin words eventually made their way into everyday speech. 

Today, almost 30% of the language is Latin-based; when combined with the 30% or so from French (which is derived directly from Latin), a total of about 60% of the vocabulary is Latin in origin.

When you start looking at the history of the English language, it quickly becomes evident that it is impressive, not so much for the quirks, but for the amount of standardisation that applies. It may be a weird language, but somehow, we make sense of it and make it work.  

What Does All This Have to Do with Writing a Novel?

If you’re an aspiring author, language is the tool of your trade. Having an understanding of how it has developed allows you to manipulate it in new ways, attributing deeper meaning in many cases.

Writers who have cultivated their knowledge of linguistics and the history of language are often able to be more imaginative with it, especially in the case of world-building. 

Take The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, as an example. Collins’ fictional world, Panem, is derived from the Latin word panem, which is the accusative singular form for the word 'bread'. It was derived from the Latin saying ‘panem et circenses’, meaning 'bread and circuses’. This phrase is widely attributed to Juvenal, a Roman poet, and refers to the use of entertainment and plentiful food to make citizens give up their political power and freedoms.

Collins’ engagement with the history of language enriches her world and contributes important layers of symbolism to her series - and it’s these small but important details that will make your writing more literary, engaging, and meaningful. 

Getting Some Feedback on Your Latest Novel

When writing a novel, working alongside a manuscript assessment agency can be the difference between your book going unread and flying off the shelves. Their literary consultancy services help you become the best authors you can be, by providing thoughtful, honest and constructive feedback on your manuscript. 

Here at Marginalia Manuscripts, our literary consultants provide manuscript assessment services for both aspiring and published authors. Regardless of which genre of fiction you’re writing in, our literary consultants are able to provide you with a comprehensive and instructive manuscript assessment report. The value of a detailed report from an experienced and astute manuscript assessor is inestimable, and literary consultants can help to make your novel not only attractive to readers, but also to agents and publishers. 

So, why not submit your manuscript to Marginalia Manuscripts today? You can also schedule a free call with a literary consultant via our website.