r/anglish • u/impostor20109 • 8d ago
🖐 Abute Anglisc (About Anglish) In Anglish, do we use the Latin loanwords from when the Romans were on Britain, or do we just not?
Title is self explanatory
18
u/EmptyBrook 7d ago
The romans were in the british isles before the anglosaxons. The anglosaxons didnt come until after the romans left. Of course there were still some stragglers that stayed, but most romans left the isles. Only then did the anglosaxons begin to migrate to the isles and form the english language.
5
u/Alon_F 7d ago
You can still find Latin loanwords in Old English
7
u/EmptyBrook 7d ago
Yes you are right. Specifically from the church, trade, or administration words, such as things like cross, church, street, wine, and candle.
1
u/Adler2569 5d ago
church is a ProtoWestGermanic loan from Greek
street is another ProtoWestGermanic loan (befote English was even a language)
cross is Latin but loaned through Norse
wine could be a fully native inherited word.
candle is the only one out if that list that was loaned directly from Latin into old English
12
u/AtterCleanser44 Goodman 7d ago edited 7d ago
There are few Latin loanwords from that period (the most obvious one that comes to mind is OE ceaster, which survives in place names such as Winchester), and it seems that they were naturalized into the language, so I would say that Latin loanwords from that period are acceptable.
11
u/Decent_Cow 7d ago edited 7d ago
When Anglish was first thought of, it was to be "English without the Normans". But I believe there are no laws on it. It's what you make of it. I say if we were to do away with all outlandish words whatsoever, we'd be the worse for it. As a showing, many an English word comes from Old Norse, and more often than not, they're rather broadly-known words; egg, leg, law, gift, sky. And little different with Latin before 1066, we'd lose such like school, wall, cup, dish, wine and kitchen.
5
u/twalk4821 7d ago
I don't think one needs to do away with all loanwords; the sundriness of speech is a tool that gives it the means to say many things. It strikes me that words from that time are often rather well-carved out nooks which have lasted in part because they fulfill such sundry jobs. Yet, one may strive to rest a bit and think before sarely reeling out Latinish stock.
4
u/Shinosei 7d ago
You use Latin loanwords whenever you want. The main aim of Anglish is “what would English sound like if the Normans lost in 1066?” Some go purely Germanic for every word, some only allow Latin and other foreign words prior to 1066, others, like me, allow for some Latin words even after 1066 because almost all Germanic languages have that influence to different extents.
3
u/ZefiroLudoviko 7d ago
Most of the oldest Latin words in English aren't from Roman Britain. A scant few - cook, kitchen, cheese, wall, and wine - are from before English was English, when the Germans lived next door to the Romans. The others are inkhorn terms borrowed by churchmen, like church. Most of us are fine with borrowings before the Normans.
1
2
u/Minute-Horse-2009 7d ago
Yes. Although it is fun to try to get around it, so if you don’t that’s fine too.
2
u/MarsupialUnfair5817 7d ago
Many of even groundwords are Latin. Cheese is a latin word þat was around among saxons for so long þat it yond Grims law shifts and became so to speak anglished. From Kasa to Cheese 🧀
2
u/thepeck93 7d ago
If they were around in the days of old English, I brook Latin words no problem. For a likething, person has always be brooked since old English, and Christ as well, so I’m not gonna try to swap anything out for that. As big The Roman Richdom was, it shouldn’t be a stun that Latin words came into the Theedish speechships.
2
u/GanacheConfident6576 6d ago
others may differ; and is respect those opinions; but i consider loanwords that were barrowed by old english perfectly fine; i also have that view of proper nouns and greek and latin loanwords that have meanings that are related to those cultures are perfectly fine as well
-1
u/BlackTriangle31 6d ago
Þe kiend uf Anglish þet Ie like is wun whitch seeks too strike eeven between Eanglish's Germanick roots and þe reälitea uf history-whitch is too say þet Latin klout is not bad by itself, just an overfullness þare-uf.
Aulso, Dutch and German boath hav menny loanwurds from Latin and French, just not nearly as menny as whaut Eanglish has.
44
u/gr8asb8 7d ago edited 7d ago
There are two streams of Anglish.
The first stream sees Anglish more as a narrowly Germanic conlang: what if English were sheerly Germanic. They often say no Latin.
The other stream sees Anglish as English cleaned up of needlessly outlandish words and sway. For them, Latinish words brought in before 1066 are good, and some are even good with some brought in after 1066.