How did English evolve? - Kate Gardoqui

View full lesson: ed.ted.com/less...
What is the difference between "a hearty welcome" and "a cordial reception"? In a brief, action-packed history of the English language, Kate Gardoqui explains why these semantically equal phrases evoke such different images.
Lesson by Kate Gardoqui, animation by Ben Tobitt.

[@Zanimater]

English isn't even my first language and I had the exact same image in my head. wow

[@RafaelReyesofficial]

Same here. Mindfuck

[@v0n2x018]

Indeed this is effin amazing. Not a native English speaker too but holy f*ck

[@erikmarquez1951]

I know, me too

[@TheCanuck-ye4xm]

Same

[@Blackwinter335]

For the hearty welcome I imagined small villagers in a hut greeting me while for the cordial reception I imagined powdered wigs and baroque music

[@alberteinsteinthejew]

Wow amazing, as we learn English we also learn German, French, Latin, Viking XD

[@Thetruthiscosmic]

Viking isn't a language.

[@christopherwinne5434]

I think he ment Norse

[@hazard89]

'german' is a 'germanic language' the way that english is a 'germanic language.' it can be confusing what with the 'german/german-ic' similarity.

[@Bjowolf2]

@@Thetruthiscosmic Danish tongue / Dansk tunge 😁

[@herrbonk3635]

@@hazard89 Only in English though. We call them tyskar, and their language tyska (which is indeed a germaniskt språk, just like our own).

[@mikelmendizabal8177]

Gardoqui is a Basque surname. In my opinion should be written in Euskera, that is, Gardoki. Anyway, zorionak, great video. Short but very illustrative. Really helpful to understand language evolution. Milesker.

[@thetrashmaster1352]

Or the french words are bigger, less well known, spoken less in regular speech and more specific in what they mean. So when you hear "Hi, I'm john and these are my mates" you think, 'okay this guys normal' whereas if you hear someone say "Hello, my title is John and this is my entourage" you think, 'this person is high class' because they are saying words not commonly spoken.

[@terencekreft482]

Not quite, in the second case you think, "ok, this guy is a dick" (g).

[@volimNestea]

Caleb Thompson Title ≠ name

[@fadel8792]

Interesting! I never thought of the word "cordial" as coming from the french "coeur" which means heart!

[@rexgrl3]

that was cool!

[@jdn94]

I was also thinking about Britain and Australia. I read an article about how American English accent is what British English sounded like during the Revolutionary war...but I highly doubt it.

[@andreafisher7799]

This distinction persists in the fields of farming and gastronomy : English words for animals tend to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, whereas the corresponding meat is more likely to be derived from French. Compare cow (Kuh in modern German) and beef (boeuf in modern French) or the German „Schwein“ which cognates to “swine” in English and the meat, “pork” / “porc” : one section of society was more concerned with the cuisine (there it is again) and the other handled the livestock

[@gib803]

Beautiful

[@TheYuvimon]

You guys think it is possible Tolkien took this picture of germanic influences being hearty and earthern, while french influences where viewed as refined and noble, to create the dwarves (germanic) and elves (latin/romanic), with regular humans (english) in the middle?

[@alexandersupertramp151]

This is just Awesome...!!!! :)

[@aakankshasinha2769]

Funny how once English was considered as a peasant language and today in India, it's an elite language.

[@ruadhani]

2:16 the Saxons weren't in Ireland ;-)

[@darthvader5830]

Ikr

[@mccm4r]

"Our history lives in the words we speak and hear." well-said!

[@neoarmstrongcyclonejetarms9326]

In deed it is

[@truptigangurde5106]

@@neoarmstrongcyclonejetarms9326 what language it is

[@truptigangurde5106]

@@neoarmstrongcyclonejetarms9326 can yu tell

[@neoarmstrongcyclonejetarms9326]

@@truptigangurde5106 The Georgian language

[@truptigangurde5106]

@@neoarmstrongcyclonejetarms9326 ohh

[@joeylow7961]

This narrator's voice is so pleasant and soothing.

[@VCYT]

+Joey Low as this is a yankee vid thats a big achievement.

[@modestoca25]

+Joey Low I have to agree, it's better than listening to a stuffy, nasally Brit lol

[@koukkoufos2000]

I know she sounds very nice 😊

[@pekinggeese]

It sounds like she's using a binaural microphone. Very ASMR.

[@christopherwinne5434]

She had a nice voice, but her mic wasn't very good.

[@Merthalophor]

Wow, this is amazing! Even myself, who doesn't speak english as a nativ language, imagined exactly what she described! I'ts like a magic trick! So cool! Language is so interesting.

[@coolfer2]

Ikr, I guess even non-native english people got used to the image of snobby upper-class French aristocracy, that words which sound like French immediately evoke the same image. And French does sound more "sophisticated", even to people who don't understand it. Try compare it to the harsh German, or fast-paced Spanish.

[@sugarshock7925]

This segregation of english language, described in this video, is also still noticelbe in how whe call our food, especially meat today. While the lower class farmer only had to do with the animal itself and hardly could afford to eat meat, they just named the animals (for example "cow"). In contrary, the rich aristocrats only ate the meat, and never worked with the real animal, so because of french influences, they had their own names for the animals/it's meat ( cow ----> beef [from french "boef" means cow]). That's why in english, there still are different names today for animals and it's meats. Oh man, I just love history

[@Verminskyi]

RetroRaver A lot of people ask about swear words in gaelic and whilst there are some new inventions and some topics not suited to the dinner table the same idea of a swear word doesn't exist. If you look at the swear words in English they are often Saxon or Norse for non-dinner table suitable terms. We even tell people to mind their language when they start speaking earthy Saxon!

[@daniiiba2633]

+RetroRaver French for cow is "vache".

[@Verminskyi]

+Danii Iba *Modern French for cow is vache. Old French it's boef.

[@daniiiba2633]

Verminskyi Boeuf is french for beef, vache is french for cow, that's how I understood it. After looking it up, it seems that we are both correct, Boeuf does indeed also translate as cattle.

[@Verminskyi]

+Danii Iba languages changen, without tweogan, languages change!

[@janabell3810]

So many people here are making disparaging remarks about this clever video. I find it to be very educational and thought-provoking. She can't possibly cover this complex topic thoroughly in 5 minutes, but she gives us the highlights in a creative, insightful way.

[@janabell3810]

I don't believe that "large parts are factually incorrect", as you say.

[@janabell3810]

The graphics have nothing to do with it, so don't be condescending. Which parts are "factually incorrect"? Do tell.

[@Despotic_Waffle]

which parts are factually incorrect

[@HerrWortel]

Please do tell which parts are factually incorrect?

[@janabell3810]

That is what I'd like to know. I don't think there are any. It's a great little video.

[@theSelodijehermano]

The letter style had also a lot to do with the way we picture both sentences.

[@ericlingren4792]

Haha very, very true.

[@Bjowolf2]

"Cute Viking neighbours" - hmmmm 😳

[@Aikman94]

The last phrase was just amazing, so meaningful, so accurate.

[@tsopmocful]

When those Anglish lads saw those Danish lassies, I'm not surprised that they quickly learnt the meaning of the words skin, legs, want, root, freckle. They all can be used in one sentence.

[@janabell3810]

Clever response!

[@Bjowolf2]

Derfor vi [ve] haver man{g}e af de samme '_ord_' nu [noo] 😎

[@billmcpherson706]

Pretty sure I picked up a girl or two in my day saying exactly that 😆

[@Theivv]

"Did away way with the Celts" *looks at the Scottish, Irish, and Welsh*

[@Adenzel]

Yeah That's a pretty massive mistake (actually more of a gargantuan fuck up) , I'm surprised more haven't picked up on it.

[@Theivv]

Seriously.

[@JohnMatrix89]

Theivv You are right, but she meant did away with the Celts in England. That's mostly true.

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

Wait, she meant?

[@JirkaGasik]

There are many other blunders.

[@aidenhergott9438]

She was talking like she was doing ASMR was this Ted trying to give us tingles?

[@muhammedwali8487]

hadaà

[@ricksky3111]

Whaaat?!! You mean to tell me that Anglo-Saxons didn't buy the English version of Rosetta Stone from Amazon??! I was way off. CC!

[@gianmarcorossi3781]

i get it from amazon prime luckily.. it's awesome

[@daultonbaird6314]

the norski in me WANTS A FRECKLED LEG SKIN ROOT

[@shanthiprasadh]

I wished that there was an intro to the Great Vowel Shift, as that was significant in the evolution of the English language.

[@CalebWilliamsisthegoat]

🧢

[@samirzepeda4028]

@@CalebWilliamsisthegoat un 🧢

[@rahonui730]

I like this! Cause if someone tells me to speak properly I can explain to them that there is no such thing!

[@hijodesumatter]

"The memory persists, in the feelings evoked by the words you speak". That's a trip. And considering words alter biological changes. We're really just a shadow of the past. A continuation projected by it. We're all sea foam and part of that ocean. Wow

[@johnmiller2132]

+Ivan Mora Ha Ha, What?!

[@hijodesumatter]

hahahaha i don't know man I can't remember writing this

[@johnmiller2132]

ha, too funny man!

[@vitvarg1]

+Ivan Mora I want whatever you're smoking

[@TheBc99]

The Romans protected the Celts from the Saxons? Not really. The Celts were pretty isolated and didn't have to worry about invasions until the Romans crossed the Channel. The Saxons didn't become powerful until centuries after the Romans left. I'm being a bit nitpicky, though. I guess this video is supposed to simplify a lot. (ouLearn's video is better)

[@matondia3926]

+Benjamin Rome Clarke why did't Romans build a single stadium in Britannia? i ask cause all Greek stadiums around Europe Africa and Asia minor are called Greek Roman, and you gave the impression of knowing history.. let's see if you can think to!

[@TheBc99]

Maton Dia I think by stadium you mean amphitheatre, which is what the Romans built and is what the Colosseum is. There were actually amphitheatres in Roman Britain, and traces of them exist today. They're just not very famous because, unlike the Colosseum or Hadrian's Wall, they've all either crumbled away or been built over in the interim 1500 years. Rest assured, though, there were at least small amphitheatres at some point. Britain was thoroughly Romanised by the 3rd Century AD, and at least its urban population in cities like Camulodunum (Colchester) tried to emulate Roman culture in every way.

[@TheBc99]

Maton Dia Here's a great map showing the locations of the amphitheatres Rome built around its empire. As you can see, Roman culture penetrated deep into Britain. Even the Welsh spoke Latin in this period! upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Amphi-Rome.PNG

[@matondia3926]

this map is nothing! is you have a historic map show me that! the funny thing is according this map Greeks did not build any amphitheaters even though it's a Gr. invention! Pergamus theater by your map is Roman! but..wiki said.. "The Hellenistic Theater with a seating capacity of 10,000. This had the steepest seating of any known theater in the ancient world" And one more "Roman amphitheater" of yours from wiki.. "The Greek theatre of Syracuse lies on the south slopes of the Temenite hill, overlooking the modern city of Syracuse in southeastern Sicily. It was first built in the 5th century BC, rebuilt in the 3rd century BC and renovated again in the Roman period." So "your" map is as good as....

[@TheBc99]

Maton Dia No, the Greeks did not build amphitheatres. They built theatres, and it's important not to conflate the two terms, as they had different meanings back then. "Amphitheatre" means "double theatre". It was a Roman invention, a theatre encircling the stage on all sides and built from the ground up, whereas the older-style Greek theatres were semicircular and built on the side of hills. Huge difference between Roman amphitheatres and Greek theatres, hence my correction when you called them "stadiums", which is a confusing term especially since it means something very different in classical Latin. There are also Roman theatres, like the Marcellan Theatre in Rome, which were semicircular like Greek ones but built not into the side of hills but from the ground up as amphitheatres were.

[@nickzelner]

our history lives within the words we speak

[@katiearbuckle9017]

Oh yeah, when Americans Dropped the U so hard in 1776.... That England went "WHY I NEVA..." And boom the Accents you hear today.

[@intreoo]

This is especially interesting when you compare how English speakers view languages like German and French. English speakers tend to view German as a very rough and brute language, while French is viewed as a very refined and posh one. Do you think that this contrast is related to the general Anglo-Saxon (Germanic) and French divide?

[@keinGenug]

Awesome, I am not a native english speaker, my mother language is spanish, that is closely related with latin and arab, but it didn't matter, i pictured the very same images for the two sentences, it feels lime, as you learn a language, you, subconsciously, also learn its history, its memory, I am amazed.

[@jackyzhu9761]

isaac grandas, Arabic is unrelated to English and Spanish is descended from Latin. Of course, alcohol is from Arabic, so I guess I see why you said Arabic and English are related: words.

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

arabic is a semitic language, so saying its related to Spanish and English, which are distant Indo-European cousins is either idiotic or pure ignorance

[@nukediamondx]

@@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014Konstantinopoli it may be from a language branch viewpoint. But after speaking both languages you will be surprised at how they are so similar.

[@vivy-kun3510]

@@jackyzhu9761 he never said that Arabic is related to English. He said his mother tongue is Spanish which is related to Latin and Arabic (they share many common words). Try working on your comprehension first.

[@latinmoses8417]

Become a Christian

[@JakeBroe]

I really feel like they need to make some movie that take place 1000 years ago and they make the language they speak pure and true to the age. That would be amazing.

[@kennywood9911]

Very nice, But I have a small quibble. "They gave us a hearty welcome. They gave us a cordial reception." Here, "reception" and "welcome" are (more or less) synonymous nouns in English. But the adjectives "hearty" and "cordial" do not mean the same thing, and in some sense, they might be opposites. That's why they evoke different images. Instead of "cordial," I'd choose a different latinate word like "enthusiastic" or "effusive."

[@anmerpozzo]

Kenny Wood Cordial comes from the word "Cor", which means Heart in Latin. They may not mean the same thing now, but they are supposed to mean the same thing originally. In portuguese, when you want to say you know something "By Heart" you say you know it "De Cor" even though we say "Coração" for Heart.

[@Verminskyi]

Kenny Wood I disagree but then Cordial to me is similar to croiúil in the Gaelic which has that same heart root (croí from latin Cor) I would certainly consider cordial and hearty to be cognates.

[@atouloupas]

Kenny Wood "Enthusiastic" derives from ancient Greek ἐνθουσιασμὸς (divine inspiration) [ἐν (in) + θεὸς (god) = possessed by god], not from Latin :)

[@fireandblood8142]

Verminskyi cordial is a french word, we say cordial in French and it has the exact same meaning as it has in English.

[@michaelrees350]

"And so the centuries passed, with Bri'ons happily speaking Old English" XD

[@EricELT18]

A friendly introduction to a long, fascinating, and strange story.

[@daseqw6542]

Same way at Turkish. After Romans, Oghuz tribes came to Anatolia. But there were Greeks before. Just like Saxons and Celts. Oghuz-Kipchak language become common like Anglo-Saxon language. And then, Mongols invade here with Persian Culture. So, Persian words are noble words in nowaday Turkish.

[@modestoca25]

+Das Eqw Interesting

[@matondia3926]

+Das Eqw "Mongols invade here with Persian Culture"?

[@daseqw6542]

Maton Dia Yes. The Ilkhanete was established in Iran. Then invaded Turkey.

[@user-se8mi2io1v]

+Das Eqw Persian influence in Turkey is more ancient than Mongol invasion. Remember, that the centre of the Seljuk state was in Iran, not in Anatolia.

[@atouloupas]

Thats why modern Greek has so many loanwords from Turkish :)

[@cassiuscyparissus5567]

this is one of the reason why english is hard. it's swollen with vocabulary. and now, used by usa, uk, australia, etc, its growing even faster. so don't say french is hard, it's only like half of english.

[@matthewschiffer4649]

Bro not even Canterbury Tales is decipherable without serious translation assistance. There’s no way modern English speakers can make heads or tails of English prior to 1066

[@surfwavtv]

Did away with the celts lol you mean displaced and then conquered.

[@VCYT]

+3KTV interbred is the correct term.

[@surfwavtv]

VC YT lmao sure the correct "revisionist" term. We all know who basically owns all the land in the UK, same people who own most of africa, australia, and the rest of the old empire.

[@Verminskyi]

+3KTV The Chinese?

[@blitzkrieg2928]

most of them were driven to Scotland and Wales

[@leornendeealdenglisc]

Not many people know this but it was the Anglian dialects of Old English (Mercian and Northumbrian) are what evolved into the English today. The Lord's Prayer presented in this video is of the Late West Saxon dialect.

[@AMS97PS3]

You missed out East Anglia from the Angle Kingdoms :( #FuckMercia

[@gazibizi9504]

Norse infused Anglian or Anglo-Norse, would be correct to refer to this speech.

[@pandacoch]

This is cool! Love the hearty welcome and cordial reception part!

[@garethmaccoll4374]

An entertaining and insightful wee piece with regard to the origins and impact of language... HOWEVER, the history presented is massively simplified (which I could just about forgive considering the length and target audience of the presentation), and in some places - such as the linguistic divide presented between Anglo-Saxon and Danish - almost completely wrong. Also, Latin was already present in the British Isles and Ireland LONG before the Normans arrived with their Catholic clergy. I'm sure there was another group present in Britain for some time before them who might have spoken Latin... Perhaps the Romans?

[@IlersichProductions]

Gareth MacColl Yeah, but the Latin vocabulary didn't stick as well as when the clergy came.

[@garethmaccoll4374]

Laersico Fair point considering the video's about the evolution of English. In my annoyance I might have confused the issue because I study Celtic history, language and culture, and the Latin from the Roman period had a greater impact on them. Having said that, the Anglo-Saxons were Christian by the arrival of the Normans and the Latin of the Roman period did survive, in large part, within the sphere of the Church. Personally I would consider the linguistic contribution of the Normans to English as Norman French (although I do realise much of that language was based on Latin).

[@godzilla964]

So to learn perfect English, I need to learn Greek, Latin, German, Danish, and French?

[@amberkry955]

I always love language history. Just seeing how other languages influence one another. It's so fascinating to me

[@dk.kapsukas2195]

VIKINGS DID NOT HAVE WINGS ON THEIR HORNS!!

[@JasonJacksonJames]

Prove it.

[@dk.kapsukas2195]

+JasonJacksonJames Just ask a historian or a archaeologist, or just look it up, I suggest the CGPgrey video.

[@dk.kapsukas2195]

+JasonJacksonJames Just ask a historian or a archaeologist, or just look it up, I suggest the CGPgrey video.

[@MrMortull]

Nor did they have those non-winged horns on their helmets. They did have spectacles, though. ;p

[@goktimusprime5443]

+JasonJacksonJames It's true. Wings and horns were only added to Viking helmets in operas. The original Vikings never had such ornaments on their helmets.

[@gt1919]

@Caesar Santizo I remember reading about the invasion of Britain by the Anglo-Saxon (Germanic) tribes. In most other invasions, the populations ultimately mix, as indeed happened in the British Isles late, with the Viking and Germanic groups eventually merging. With the Anglo Saxon invasion, though, the Germanic groups seem to have not integrated with, but replaced the Celts. The thing I read seemed to say that no-one is sure what happened to the Celts, but they were probably either shoved out of the way into places like Wales and Cornwall, or they were largely wiped out. Either way, their culture and language disappeared. I would guess that the answer to your question is related to that. Any Latin picked up by the Celts when they were occupied by the Romans was 'lost' when the Germanic tribes supplanted the existing population. As the Germanic groups were never conquered by Rome, all traces of Latin might have been lost in England. However, that theory would only work if the existing populations in Spain, France, etc. weren't wiped out or pushed away in the same manner. It also means there might be some traces of Latin in Welsh or Cornish, as that is where most of the Romano-British and Celts would have gone too (if they weren't all killed). It's also worth noting that England was relatively out of the way. Cultural exchanges to or from the country weren't that common, I don't think, and even Christianization came late to the British Isles. The adoption of Christianity in the Roman Empire in 380 happened just three years before all Roman soldiers were removed from Northern England for the final time, and only 30 years before the total end of Roman occupation of Britain. I can't swear that's why, but that's my guess, based on what I know.

[@powerist209]

I am just wondering how Small places like England has more language dialect? Was it North-South division (based on Jared Diamond's theory that East to west is much more easier to spread).

[@richlisola1]

Older lands always have more linguistic diversity. Time leads to more change, and older lands have more time to change-Also these old countries were around before widespread reading and book printing allowed for standardization of the written and spoken languages. Now with the press, mass media, the internet, and television-Rather than more differences in speech, we are seeing the dissolution of some dialects

[@user-se8mi2io1v]

Lol, "hearty welcome" scene in my mind was with wine and caviar. Cause these things are common(except caviar, it is not cheap, but it is for really *hearty* welcome) in my country, Moldova, with its slavic-dacian-latin mixed culture.

[@louheartsstuff1929]

CHUJ CHUJEK XDD

[@mberg1974]

Pretentious, Moi?!

[@TheTNTBox]

mberg1974 nee enorm

[@Dynamic72]

I hate when these narrators constantly slap their lips it makes me uncomfortable

[@PTAdnan]

"Our history lives in the words that we speak and hear." perfect 👌

[@FatSuitBaldCap]

Good video, but pet peeve of mine is the use of "C.E." kind of cringy, always think of Brave New World when people use that....

[@creamofthecrop4339]

4:33 is that Louis C.K. I see?

[@erazn9077]

Yup! With what looks like George Carlin and Kristen Schaal on his left

[@beanalisa3034]

It’s a shame that the speakers had to use words from French to sound “sophisticated”. Such a departure from one’s own culture! English is just a mishmash of several old world languages- nothing exciting or original about it. There would be nothing English left in English if we take away the non-English words. And still the English feel like their language should dominate the earth and they did that by colonisation. Yuck!

[@stuffystuffclub]

Oh dear, oh dear... what gross inaccuracies! Saxon Ireland! Viking Scotland! Give us a break...

[@slimboyfat9409]

Bigg Jobag The Saxon word is referring to the Southwest of Britain you genius(even though the word is partially written over Ireland). You would have a case about Wales and Cornwall not being distinguished from Saxon areas though.

[@Katy-wd5rb]

Y online school is making me whatch this

[@adityabankar]

Awesome video! In India speaking English makes us feel aristocratic. 😁 Today I got to know that the same feeling persisted in England.

[@alhaven2748]

I can't believe Vinland Saga actually helped me understand more of this in context XDD

[@francescakyanda9182]

Language is so deep-seated in society, it's really fascinating to learn more about it

[@nickzardiashvili624]

The Romans protected the Celts from Germanic tribes? That's not true at all. In fact one of the reasons why those Germanic tribes settled the British Isles was that they were contracted as mercenaries by Roman aristocrats after most of Roman legions left the isles as the empire was slowly collapsing.

[@user-hb4zz4gh5e]

Did away with the celts?

[@Shrikeswind]

The whole noble/peasant divide in the English language can especially be seen in words for meat and animals; the words for animals often come from Old English, for example, Old English cu, sceap, or hogg would develop into the animal names cow, sheep, and hog, since the English-speaking peasants primarily interacted with the living animals. On the other hand, the French-speaking nobles interacted more with the meat, so Old French boef, moton, and porc were introduced into English, where they would become the words beef, mutton, and pork. It's actually a bit of a shame this didn't get brought up, since it illustrates the division much more clearly than "Hearty welcome" and "Cordial reception."

[@Heikinnen0301]

RIP Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 🇬🇧

[@theviking988]

Watching TedEd for an hour gives more knowledge then three years in school.

[@liamailiam]

THIS IS A GRATE PEICE OV HISTORY M8

[@elvenalonly]

It's been too long for english to not have another update by its developers.

[@raf221]

Et ouais les mecs, c'est nous les rois ;)

[@hijodesumatter]

Je ne comprend pas

[@raf221]

Ivan Mora "Yeah guys we are the kings"

[@hijodesumatter]

hahahah

[@aliciac.6133]

Quand on pense que le français était la langue la plus parlée dans le monde au avant la création des Etats ...

[@VCYT]

+raf221 NO comprehende - speaka da english, as we evolved it.

[@NullCyan]

a family on a sunday dinner drinking beer people in suits drinking wine

[@kenbobca]

WHY is obama pictured in this video?

[@goktimusprime5443]

Because he represents government or authority, which is what many English words of Franco-Latin origin evoke since they were traditionally words used by people in authority and aristocracy over words of Anglo-Saxon origin. The video does explain this quite clearly.

[@kenbobca]

I think You're just trying to push him in front of everyone in order to try to boost his legacy. Why weren't any of our other, more deserving Presidents pictured there?

[@goktimusprime5443]

Ken Karnes Mate, I'm not even a bloody American, so as if I give a flying toss about who their leader is. All I'm saying is that it's an image of authority. There are also other leaders pictured alongside him - Queen Elizabeth II and Vladimir Putin.

[@Atlas-pn6jv]

Ken Karnes WHY is it that big of a deal? His administration made the economy great, brought unemployment below 5%, ended the war in Iraq, killed Osama Bin Laden, brought even a sliver of respect back to America from the international community because he was willing to work with them. Ya, Obamacare isn't great, but at least it givens medical coverage to people who otherwise NEVER would have been able to afford it because big business nickels and dimes us just so we can live healthy lives, which medical care is a HUMAN RIGHT but leave it to big business to exploit people. At this point, I am convinced people don't like him because he is a black man and a Democrat. Either that or they really don't know shit about how difficult it is to run the most influential and powerful country in the world. And of you don't think America is powerful then you are sadly mistaken. The world waits and watches to see what America is going to do next. We are very influential, and that makes us powerful.

[@kenbobca]

Disagree.

[@desmondwhalen7812]

Ted-Ed did 2 or 3 videos on English. It would be fabulous if there were different languages.

[@karlslicher8520]

The English language is akin to the "Borg". It automatically seeks to assimilate or eradicate. It is funny to watch the developing world cram English words in to their syntax.

[@meegz149]

Not just the developing. There are many German words that are just germanified versions of English words.

[@jpheitman]

***** That's an interesting reversal of history.

[@Merthalophor]

Yeah, as ***** said, there are many, _many_ words going over into german, at least in switzerland. "Game" translated in german would actually be "Spiel", a video game on the other hand is called "game" in german as well. Same goes with "Internet", "Stand-by", "Website", "Homepage", "shoppen" (for shopping), somtimes "Sreen", "Display", "Drums", the phrase "Last but not least", "business", and I'm just beginning...

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

The German word for birth-control pill is "Antibaby"!

[@nickzardiashvili624]

The guy on the right at 04:30... Is that Louis CK? :D

[@marvinchester]

Beautiful, informative thoughtful piece. Great speaking voice. Thanks.

[@ultim8yeetr708]

450: grete wyse ded sedes nevere sholde laide erthe 2019: great wise dead seeds never should laid earth Wow evolving

[@KozzzFrog]

germanic erde - english erthe - french ea - e, english modern earth

[@LtStJebus]

English is awesome because it is adaptive. We're like the borg, assimilating everything we come in contact with. Our grammar may be broken, our rules constantly ignored, and our language may seem confusing to others, but I like it. A fluent speaker can understand very complex ideas and say the same thing in a dozen ways. And when we don't have a word for something, there are easy ways to create one that make the new word seem intuitive.

[@yuldrmh2395]

Germanic Anglo-saxon Language is bone

[@weiqiaoelisasun3851]

A group of Chinese dialects (like Wu, which is represented by Shanghainese; Yue, represented by Cantonese and Hoishan; Min, represented by Hokkien, Teochew and Fuzhounese) also followed the similar developing pattern in the ancient time. They used to absorb Mandarins in different periods of time and preserve their original languages (actually in the very beginning they are different tribes, in which people speak totally different languages compared with Mandarin at that time) as basis.

[@Nutty151]

So are the Celts the original inhabitants of the British isles?

[@therandomquakers]

Nutty151 yes but there were also celts in other places.

[@Nutty151]

Jovahkiin Oh, I see now. Are the Scots also descended from Celts or a different tribe?

[@therandomquakers]

Nutty151 Yes, Scots, Welsh and Irish are all Celts. Although you probably also know this, you wouldn't consider the Celts a tribe. They were more of a loose cultural group that were probably only put in the same category because they were different from Germans.

[@Nutty151]

Jovahkiin Right. I do remember reading that the Romans had a harder time conquering the land that would become Scotland than they did England and Wales.

[@VCYT]

+Nutty151 - no, it would of been neatherthals, as prior to the last ice, maybe 40,000 bc.

[@lightndark3817]

Note to self-'Language is expression of History'.As a student of History i appreciate this from bottom of my heart.Afterall History pulsates and gets enliven through the language which we are speaking.Language is much more than semantics,grammar,syntax- it's a living legacy in the end it was so illuminating& enlightening.

[@Mr.Lubbox-Lobsterlegz1]

I only speak English

[@TheMrCarnification]

sinto muito

[@lizandroalvarez2683]

que pena

[@miriamlogan3733]

1:09 - "Mr. Romulus Augustulus, I don't feel so good."

[@nickbilotto]

what about Greek

[@kapoiosgr]

ikr most english words have a greek root so...

[@vy9272]

+kapoios. gr Your sheer stupidity and ignorance makes me feel bad for this world.

[@kapoiosgr]

Gold Logic ...what?

[@vy9272]

kapoios. gr Hint: Most English words *DON'T* actually have Greek roots. Now try to comprehend that fact.

[@kapoiosgr]

Gold Logic they do though,not my fault,there's an amount of english words that have a greek root

[@วรายุทธวงพิมพ์]

ผมรุ้แค่ว่าหลักการจินตนาการมันทำงานในรุบแบบไหน...เพราะสมองเราจะมีผลโต้ตอบที่จะมีผลลับที่ต่างกันสำหรับการตอบสนอง1ประโยคคำสั่งบางคนถ้าใช้ปรัะจำยุในสถานที่ที่ใช้ประจำเค้าก้จะตอบไวแต่ถ้าไม่ได้ใช้ในการสือสารบ่อยในชีวิตประจำวันเค้าก้จะตอบจากการนึกเอาภาพเก่าๆทีเค้าเคยเห้นมากอนคับและส่วนสีและเสื้อผ้าไม่มีของใครเหมือนกันอย่างแน่นอนนอกจากเอาคนสองคนไปผ่านการใช้ชีวิตที่เหมือนกันแบบเป๊ะที่สุดเพื่อให้เค้าเก้บภาพและความทรงจำมาตอบเมื่อการโดนถามในคำถามเดี่ยวกันนั้นคนสองคนจะตอบตรงกันในเกือบครึ่งต่อครึ่งที่เหมือนกันไม่สีเสื้อไม่ก่ก้คนสีหน้า แต่ยุที่สมองของแต่ล่ะบุคคลด้วยว่ามียีนพื้นฐานแบบไหน เพราะมันจะสั่งการทำงานของสมองในรุบแบบที่ต่างกันบ่างก้ต่างสุดขั้ว

[@angharadhafod]

"Did away with the celts" ddywedoch chi? Fideo diddorol, ond yn anghywir fan 'na. Mewn geiriau Dafydd Iwan, "Dyn ni yma o hyd". (Remember, google translate is your friend)

[@MrMortull]

Google Translate is... spotty a lot of the time. Bit of a fair-weather friend, to be honest! But the whole video is monstrously over-simplified so I get the mild upset about that line. It's interesting to note how much 'old blood' is still hanging around in England, even the south east, and there are parts of Somerset and Dorset that are culturally English (Romanized, Saxonized, Normanized and then mixed with the rest of the isles) but still have a majority Celtic genepool. Not only are the Celts still here, but apparently they were barely pushed out at all.

[@Atlas-pn6jv]

MrMortull I hear England tries desperately to overcome this part of their past because, despite modern anthropological and sociological ideas, Celtic culture is still seen as this backwater, uncivilized thing. Which is unfortunate if that is true, because Celtic culture and its languages is absolutely beautiful.

[@angharadhafod]

The French have even less respect for the Breton language than the UK government does for the Celtic languages here. And they treat all as equal (égalité), but equal fellow French (fraternité). Not Breton (or Corse or Occitanian or Alsacian or Basque or Catalan or whatever), which they would rather just went away.

[@MrMortull]

...Wait, really? It was my understanding that Breton was recognised decades ago and bilingualism was not only accounted for, but also encouraged. I need to check where I got that impression, because I seriously don't want to be wrong about this sort of thing.

[@bubbleapple13]

That's really interesting. I come from a long line of Irish heritage, although not much connects me to it anymore so it's nice to hear people talking about Celtic languages. I've always wanted to learn Gaelic, but the pronunciation seems pretty difficult, and I'm not sure who I'd be able to talk to in Australia haha.

[@frederikwaltherliberothchr757]

Denmark FTW!

[@Bjowolf2]

Ja [yah], lad os [us] gå [go] / sejle [sigh-le] (sail) ud for det 😁

[@justiceLaw0123]

English is my third language and it’s my easiest to learn. Thank you for this history on the language. Vikings were vicious.

[@samstyan8395]

This was a really great and informative video, I'm just not convinced about the Saxon and French words having connotations reflecting their origin. The semantics of the words themselves are what conjure up the different images in our heads. 'Hearty' means 'from the heart', and 'to welcome' is a much more positive verb than 'to recieve'. The words in the phrase 'affectionate salutation' are of French origin, and they evoke positive feelings. It's the chose of words that change the mood/feel of what you say, not the etymologies of the words.

[@Diamond-pg4kc]

Bro for that "hearty welcome" scene it's literally EXACTLY what I pictured that's crazy

[@Art1611]

This video is absolutely wonderful! Beautifully explained, with an acceptable grasp on the historical facts. The English language one of the most powerful languages in all the world, and in all of history, surpassing classical Latin & Greek!

[@卢军宏台长心灵法-u3d]

A person who keeps their desire to a minimum and reaches maximum rationality is a sage. A sage always thinks about how they can benefit and help others.

[@MrSlightlyAskew]

"British" Royalty began with the Union of the Crowns in the 17th century. The nobility in the Kingdom of Scotland wrote in Norman French but probably spoke Gaelic or Scots(a dialect of old english)as a native language. That's why the modern scottish pronounciation of vowels is more similar to the saxon than modern english - norman french influenced. History is complicated, wonderful and enlightening - simplifying it does it NO justice. In this case it does the people of the UK a great injustice.

[@ImagineJohanna]

I feel like the font's should have been the same or at least that cordial shouldn't have been written in such a curvy font. I didn't even know what it meant and had to look it up. There I think the exercice lost it's meaning since I couldn't even find a direct translation to Swedish. Though I still imagined a spiral staircase and formal setting simply based on the font.

[@ultim8yeetr708]

450: grete wyse ded sedes nevere sholde 2019: great wise dead seeds never should Wow evolving

[@sultanaisagaliyev3000]

Some es disappeared

[@simonmunns9369]

Not a bad overview. It is odd to say the Romans protected the Celts. At this point they were the Romano- British with the 'Celts' being the invaders from the north. I would also like to point out that Latin was spoken by the ‘Welsh’ for a long time after the Romans left. (They did not mingle with the pagans as much.)

[@k3nny111]

Well yeah. No. The reason why it is predictable what type of image is invoked by either phrase is not their inherent more peasant or more noble sound. Those words / phrases are culturally connotated - no doubt that is because of historic reasons, but, still, it has nothing to do with the literal phonetic type of either of those words. One could just as easily construct latin/french based phrases that invoke a 'hearty' imagery.

[@JamesMartinelli-jr9mh]

My teachers always told us that 60 to 70 %bof our vocabulary derives from French and Latin. I never knew that English was a Germanic language until a German told me when I was 23 years old. Now I've been reading about the Brittonic substratum of English and everything makes sense. A Brittonic structure on which Anglo, Saxon, Jute words are used. Norman French later. 'English is more French than you imagined'...After the first 2,500 words Anglo-Saxon loses its dominance.

[@leewen2257]

History had hidden with great deal of lies, and you're telling ENGLISH history ,which you are telling lies indirectly. this dumb film wasted 5 minutes of my completely life. To get the truth,you better go ask King Alfred.