If you are going abroad, there is a good chance that you can get by at least in English, if you do not speak the language of the country in question. There are a large number of varieties of the English language, including British English and American English. But what else is there to tell about this widely used language? We would like to give you below ten interesting facts that are unknown even to many residents of the United Kingdom.
Frisian and English: what do they have in common?
To get right to the point: Frisian is linguistically most similar to English. No wonder we Dutch have such a good command of this language! In fact, both languages belong to the West Germanic languages. By the way, did you know that English originated in the area where the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and Denmark now lie?
English the most widely spoken language in the world?
Worldwide, there are some 940 million people who are proficient in English. This is an impressive number, but did you also know that it is not the most widely spoken lingua franca in the world? What language, then, you may wonder. At number one is Mandarin, or Chinese. There are a whopping one trillion people who speak this language.
Also hangry from time to time?
Ever heard of the term 'hangry'? This word was added to the Oxford dictionary in 2015 and is derived from the words "hungry" and "angry. It implies that you can be cranky or even get angry faster when you get hungry. After all, who doesn't know the familiar dip around 5 p.m. when your stomach starts to growl?
Common loan words in English
In English, you will find many words derived from other languages, such as Latin, Greek and the Germanic languages, including Dutch. Examples include 'person' which comes from the Old French 'persone' and the pronoun 'their' which originates from the Old Norse word 'beir'. But even in Old Norse 'leggr' you may recognize an English word, namely 'leg'.
Long English words
'Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis': this word counts as many as 45 letters and is the longest word in Britain. The people of England use it to designate a rare lung disease also known as silicosis. At number two is the term "floccinaucinihilipilification," indicating the habit of deeming actions or words unimportant.
Fun facts for drinks
Running out of conversation topics at a networking meeting or get-together? At least with the following facts, you won't be at a loss for words. If you turn "SWIMS" upside down, you still read "SWIMS. The shortest phrase in English is "I am" or "I am. One last thing to finish with: you cannot rhyme with the words silver, month, purple and orange.
English children and the language
In England, children generally take three years to learn to read and write their mother tongue. They are then at the same level as their peers in the Netherlands, who have spent a year learning to read and write Dutch. English children are five years old when language lessons begin, in the Netherlands they start when they are six.
Ghost words
The English dictionary contains several words that mean nothing, also called ghost words or ghost words. For example, one finds the term "dord" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which was accidentally included in 1932 due to an editor's mistake. He wanted to add the word "density" as a possible meaning of the abbreviation D or d, but instead placed the ghost word "dord.
The English lexicon
We like to elaborate on the dictionary, because the English are very active in expanding their vocabulary. A new word is added to the lexicon every 98 minutes. Recently, the words "swag," "selfy" and "normie" were added.
Most used words
The English language is rich in some 600,000 words. But what are the 10 most commonly used words? Here they come: I, a, and, be, have, the, of, to, in, that. And the noun you encounter the most is the word time, of which most of us have too little.
Are you next?
With our exciting English youth camp, children discover not only the joys of the English language, but also a wealth of interesting facts about English culture and history. The children not only learn these facts, but also apply them in fun language activities, games and field trips. This improves their English skills while immersing them in the rich English culture.
