How did the English Language get created?

[SwiZz]

So I was thinking to myself, someone must've created all these words and what their meanings are. But who, and how does one create a word & its meaning in the first place?

Why can't I just say that Gulujamalama means good-looking? Do I need to get it approved by somebody first before it becomes 'official'? Are new words still being created today?

I could probably google this and find out, but there's no fun in that.

[Blunt]

Teghydtjevve etdooelpepp kmdlullule mdmeox dibilnoa aebkeinlere !!!!

[SwiZz]

Teghydtjevve etdooelpepp kmdlullule mdmeox dibilnoa aebkeinlere !!!!

I approve of all of these new words! :)

[Stunt_101]

from Latin and French, also Greek

[jeffyjaixx]

Through time.

[cOmAtOaSt]

In time, people sorted through all the grunts and picked out the most cromulent words.

[UrbanPoet]

There are theories to explain the forming of languages.
This is studied in the field of linguistics and etymology. I took a intro course on it. It was sooooooo boring. I forgot all the stuff by now..... But i still have the old text book lying round.

[KorruptioN]

Not by kids like this:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465102

[gmark2000]

Long story short... English is derived from Germanic languages. The syntax and linguistic structure is based on this. Over time, especially with the Norman conquest in 1066, there has been influence on the vocabulary from Latinate languages. English is an adaptive language. It absorbs new lexicon readily. Althought there are rules for grammar and sentence structure, it is still easily understood even when spoken poorly (pidgin English).

It is often said that English is the easiest language to speak poorly. Thus, it has become the defacto standard for science, commerce, transportation, computer sciences (programming languages), and many governments (India, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc...)

[sterdeus]

At what point did we string 2 words together to create a sentence? I mean, we went from grunting apes to .. well, some of us are still grunting apes.

[teknoluv]

Long story short... English is derived from Germanic languages ...

It is often said that English is the easiest language to speak poorly. Thus, it has become the defacto standard for science, commerce, transportation, computer sciences (programming languages), and many governments (India, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc...)
Or the Indo-European family of language if you want to go back further. :D

But the popularity of English has less if not nothing to do with its being easy to speak or learn but more about British Colonialism and later American Imperialism. India, Singapore and Hong Kong did NOT choose to use English, it was imposed upon them: they were COLONIES!

[Talamasca]

At what point did we string 2 words together to create a sentence? I mean, we went from grunting apes to .. well, some of us are still grunting apes.

Wiki says 50,000 years ago but there's a lot of debate about that.

[Cough]

Language was developed by very cunning linguists

[KevC]

It's germanic with heavy french latin influence.

[atforum]

There were some jobless people who decided to shout and howl something and they became linguists. Voila English was born.

[gmark2000]

At what point did we string 2 words together to create a sentence? I mean, we went from grunting apes to .. well, some of us are still grunting apes.

There is a Universal Grammar that is programmed into our human brains that allow us to communicate and acquire language. Linguistically, the nouns and verbs and other syntactic elements occur in all languages.

Noam Chomsky, when he isn't talking politics, is a famous linguistics professor who forwarded the model of a Universal Grammar.

[SwiZz]

Language was developed by very cunning linguists

Cunnilingus ftw!

[ephemera]

I speak only with my fists! :twisted: