Hey , Anglo-Saxonians !! Are you PROUD of your language (Modern English)??  

Hello ,urban ! Its always a pleasure to read your posts (really ,even when there are opposing opinions) . You are right to be glad when you see your native language accepted and RESPECTED by the whole world .A phrase you made (a people of sea-farers) led me to the following question :
.Which of the sea-faring peoples did you mean (throughout history those isles have been visited by may different cultures , and they all must have been sea-farers because thats the only way you get to an island)Which one of those peoples do you believe has had the most enduring effect on the language's versatility and eventual domination ? (I would like to know your opinion ,then I will propose mine)

.Is it possible that the fact there have been MANY different cultures on those isles ITSELF is the cause of the eventual global adoption of the language ?( the language dominating because it was the original language of a dominating people VS the language dominating because it GREW in an ethnic MELTING-POT where cultures from all over Europe have intermingled over the centuries ,making it more suitable for a multi-cultural setting (for use by many different nations for example) than any other single language )

Hi, thanks, yes I enjoy your posts too, in fact often a post well written of an opposing point of view is more enjoyable to me, since it stimulates thought.

The sea-farers I referred to are just the people, who ever they might be, living here at the time. The people of this island are predominantly a mix of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon.

My family is half Scots. Scots are a Celtic/Pictish people with an admix of Viking blood. Welsh and Irish are a Celtic people also and areas of England, particularly Cornwall have strong Celtic mix. England itself is a mix of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Viking with a little Norman French a little Roman and more recently many additional influences.

Vikings, Saxons and even Norman French are all from the same Germanic root.

Scots where the last wild people, the last tribal people in Europe, after many bloody battles with the English who continually tried to dominate them Scotland obtained independence. A little later the two countries formed a union the Scottish King became King of the Union. Hence United Kingdom.

The tiny population of Scotland provided a huge component of the soldiers that fought for the British empire.

All these people were sea-farers, St Brendon, the Irish Monk, that sailed in a leather boat to America long before Columbus. People (Crab Searl? I think from memory) who sailed small open dingies across that big black North sea to Norway, the first solo circumnavigation of the globe. The centuries of dominating sea-warfare.

One of my favourite expressions of nautical origin is used when someone has done something with untoward consequences. We say "There'll be the devil to pay." The devil in this case is the gap between the boards on deck of a ship and an unpleasant job was sealing these with hot tar, this was called "Paying." Hence the expression.

A wise man once told me that the sea is, for Britains the desert, people go to sea to face danger alone and find themselves.

Hmmm, I see I have strayed from what you asked, I think the most influential people on the English language were undoubtedly the Saxons. From memory one third of our words are Germanic in origin and there are qualities to be preferred in the choice of English words and phrasing;

1. Use a word of Saxon origin in preference to one of Latin or French origin
2. Use a concrete rather than an abstract word
3. Use a direct form of expression rather than a circumlocution

all the best urban

Hi ,urban .Thank you for the language tips ,and thanks for making such a well-informed post , I wanted to choose it as "best" except that would not be logically correct (because there arent any other answers) .
.For a long time I was under the impression that the Germanic immigrants had the MAJOR impact on the British culture , but I recently learned that it was influenced by Mediterranean cultures since ancient times (the Roman invasion) ,the impact of Rome would vary directly with it's antecedence and excellence ,which would make the Roman culture share in the development of the English very considerable . Rome was also the reason why Christianity spread in the isles ,CHRISTIANITY also had an early and lasting effect on the ideological profile of the British peoples .
.One major advantage to Britain (and English) was the discovery of the NEW WORLD ,although this had been undertaken by many nations at the same time ,the British influence seemed to dominate ,putting the British peoples in some of the richest parts of the planet . That advantage might be secondary to the sea-faring nature of the British ,which allowed them to manage the newly discovered lands better than other nations ,even though those nations arrived there first .

I think the influence of the Romans is overplayed, we beat off their first two invasion attempts (The first was really just an exploratory venture)

Even when the Romans were well established we trashed their major towns and nearly wiped out their forces before being defeated. The Celtic tribes of this time had recently taken to horse riding as well as charioteering and invented trousers to ride in. Roman occupation lasted 400 years but much of its influence was lost after their departure. Although they are credited with the introduction of Christianity to these shores the Celtic Church was already active. The Saxon gods where basically Norse.

The Celtic Church, although influenced by the early Coptic Church, claims to be the first church outside the holy land and dates back to 37 AD. It arises from Paul's preaching to a group of Celts from Galicia (Galicia means land of the Gauls and Gauls are a Celtic people) These Celts had established themselves in a part of what is now Turkey before the birth of Christ. There is some evidence of legend that the early Celtic Church included people alive at the time of Jesus notably Joseph of Aramathea. The remoteness of Britain form Rome enabled this Church to remain free of the influence of Greek Philosophy and Roman law.

Unlike the Church in Rome, (It is wrong to think of this church as the Roman Catholics, since really Roman Catholicism starts in the 11th Century when in a fit of hubris the Bishop of Rome declared himself Pope and split from the Orthodox Church) those ordained in the Celtic Church were not bound to celebacy

Its defining characteristics are held to be simplicity, faithfulness to Christ's original teachings and equality of position for women in the Church. It rejects later doctrines.

The imperialism of Rome stripped this Church of its powers but recently there has been a gradual revival in this ancient form of Christianity.

Latin only re-enters the English language with the Norman French. Interestingly English was adopted as the official language at court in Scotland before it was in England wear Latin prevailed.

So whilst the influence of Rome is undoubted, it is an influence that is often overstressed I believe.

all the best urban

well,now I AM mad at you because you don't say nothing about my comment here,and i was waiting 2 hours...LOL!!!

ha ha ha!

Hello emarald , I wasnt online when your post was made , thank you for replying ,hope to hear from you more often !