Before mentioning the English relation with other Indo European languages, it is essential to introduce the background of Indo European languages for the easiness of readers to know it better which is like this: Indo European language derived from the parent language (proto Indo European language) that is considered the first language of the world; It was existing on the earth before 6500 years in the area of Ukraine, Russia and the Caucus, then later this language expanded throughout the world from Europe to northern India, Iran a and central Asia; when these people migrated those areas for different purposes.  However, it is just a theory presented by the linguists which can be wrong because another theory says that the proto Indo-European language began several thousand years earlier in Anatolia with the expansion of agriculture. But, that is not the main concern where it has originated, rather here author’s main concern is to elaborate indo European languages’ relation with each other and especially English relation with other indo European languages.  

Origin of English

The English language has a great influence by Celtic, Hellenic, and italic.   Many words of these languages came into the English language. for example, the English language developed from the West Germanic language: West Germanic languages include German, English, Dutch, Frisian, Pennsylvania, Dutch, Luxembourgish, and so on. Then it is clear that English will be influenced greatly by its near language very much. According to linguists English has borrowed thousands of vocabularies from close languages. It is said English is a Germanic language but some linguists argue that no it is a romance language. Because it is calculated that 26 percent of the words of the English language are taken from the Germanic languages and 29 percent from French, and 29 from Latin vocabulary through barrow or loan translation. Total 58 percent of vocabulary is from romance languages and 26 percent from a Germanic language. Then it puts into doubt how it is a Germanic language; rather it should be a romance language. Then Paul: a linguist argues that English’ most commonly used vocabulary, in daily speaking, are from a Germanic language. In this sense, it is argued that it is a Germanic language.

A discovery was done by a British judge, Sir William jones that some geographical distant languages such as Hindi, Greek, and English belongs to the same family. He finds out that words of Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin showed similarity when he was in India. He believes that it is not accidental therefore, in 1786 he announced that languages must have “sprung from a common source.

English relation with other Indo European can be seen in the following lines. All different languages have the same and similar vocabulary for the same things. They are pronounced similarly and meanings are completely the same. For instance, the word (dwoh) which means (two) is the same for all the mentioned languages: It is (two) for English, (do) for Balochi, (dva) for Greek, (dy) for Albanian, (do) for Irish, (dva^) for Sabra, (dva) for Russia, (do) for Hindi (do~) for Panjabi, (dwa) for Polish and so on. In this way, linguists made their ideological and strong that surely at the beginning there was one parent language which expanded after generations. Therefore now English has also been regarded as an Indo-European language by the similarity of the words.

To strengthen the point there are other several words which are same basically in all language and as well with English. For example the word (Hunda or kumtum) of Proto -indo European is the same for all languages which have developed from the parent language.  Just a little different is there because of distance. For example it is (hundred for English) (hundreT) for German, (honderd) for Dutch, (hundre) for Norwegian, (Hundra) for Swedish, and the same for the other branches of the language. Therefore, it can be argued that yes all Indo-European languages were one from the beginning. Then gradually developed into branches and sub-branches that at last reach to a stage which had compelled linguists to categorize them into different groups in which group English language also comes in one.

 

 

By: Shahzad Naseem

The writer is a student post-graduate student at the English Literature Department University of Turbat.

The pro-active teacher of Zanth Academy Jusak

Turbat Kech, Balochistan