{"id":12141,"date":"2019-11-08T09:00:28","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.pimsleur.com\/?p=12141"},"modified":"2025-11-20T09:57:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:57:59","slug":"english-words-derived-from-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/","title":{"rendered":"English-German Cognates &#8211; Common English Words Derived From German"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>37 Everyday English Words that Came From German (&amp; Why)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you know that the first dictionary of the English-language was published in 1604?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s right, my friends. Our precious language is not that old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may not come as a surprise to many that English is a mutt language, the result of countless invasions and even Roman Catholic missionaries, but others continue to argue about whether or not English is considered a Proto-Germanic language as opposed to a Latin language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before looking at some of the Germanic words in English that we use constantly in our everyday lives, let\u2019s get down to the root of this perennial question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.ng3avtif9vsj\"><strong>Is English a Germanic Language or a Latin Language?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<em>English has so many French and Latin words. Why isn\u2019t it considered a Latin language?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Actually, English is generally considered a proto-Germanic language (we\u2019ll get into other theories later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.rz66yp1e58wj\"><strong>Languages are Characterized by Genetic Relationship, Not Loan Words<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In linguistics, languages are characterized by their genetic relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are genetic relationships between languages? Normally grammatical tendencies and syntax (sentence structure) \u2013 but&nbsp;not necessarily the amount of loan words one language might have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, English might have more loan words from French and Latin combined, but it resembles German more in its grammar and syntax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How did English adopt these Germanic tendencies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.xizebkn2bvhh\"><strong>Basically, English Used to Be a Dialect of German<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As you may remember from your AP world history class, the island of Britain was invaded countless times over several hundred years from tribes living along the coast of northern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About 1,500 years ago,&nbsp;<strong>the Angles<\/strong>&nbsp;(a Germanic tribe) crossed the English channel<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>into what is today Great Britain, shortly followed by these guys:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u00a0The Saxons<\/strong>\u00a0(also Germanic)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Jutes<\/strong>\u00a0(the early Danes)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&amp;\u00a0<strong>The Frisians<\/strong>\u00a0(a Germanic tribe from the coast of the Netherlands)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"290\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/dialects-and-languages-in-germany.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/dialects-and-languages-in-germany.jpg 290w, https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/dialects-and-languages-in-germany-196x300.jpg 196w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.economist.com\/europe\/2010\/03\/18\/sprechen-sie-deutsch?utm_medium%3DSocial%26utm_source%3DPinterest&amp;sa=D&amp;ust=1570463896052000\">Source: The Economist, Sprechen Sie Deutsch?<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Fun Fact:<\/strong>&nbsp;Frisian is one of a number of Germanic languages, a family that also includes English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Swedish, and Icelandic. The language West Frisian is still spoken today in the Dutch province Friesland, and Frisian is still found in parts of Germany. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"clear clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"flex-video widescreen youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Frisian girl in Melbourne in Frisian language (Dutch TV S02E02)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/P6od3KMV9w8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These invading groups found&nbsp;<strong>the Celts&nbsp;<\/strong>living in Great Britain at the time, a people who had been there for thousands of years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in true medieval hospitality, many of the Celts were either enslaved or killed. The lucky ones escaped to modern-day Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through the years,&nbsp;<strong>the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes mixed their languages&nbsp;<\/strong>and would&nbsp;occasionally include some Celtic and old Norse influences from the Vikings (<em>who gave us words like skull, sky, leg, and crawl<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result? What we call&nbsp;<strong>Anglo-Saxon&nbsp;<\/strong>or<strong>&nbsp;Old English<\/strong>, a hodgepodge dialect, mainly influenced by Germanic languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.tvo1d7t7r3yb\"><strong>Old English Used to Have Noun Cases Like German<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>But what REALLY makes Old English a proto-Germanic language is its grammar and syntax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Old English used to have noun cases, like <em>Accusative<\/em>, <em>Dative<\/em>, <em>Genitive<\/em>, and <em>Nominative<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only this, but it also had the highly complex\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-declension\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">German declension<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 where\u00a0the article, noun, and adjective of a noun would change depending on gender, similar to how modern-day German works today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But clearly, this didn\u2019t last forever. So what changed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Learn more about Old English Grammar in the video below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"clear clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"flex-video widescreen youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Is English Really a Germanic Language?\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/2OynrY8JCDM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.kiiea3kku66d\"><strong>Here\u2019s What Happened to the Germanic Influence on Grammar<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Norms happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s right. When the Norms invaded Great Britain in 1066 and consequently conquered England, the nobility replaced words for law, power, royalty, and cuisine. As Old English started to mix with French, it became what we know today as \u201cMiddle English\u201d and lost many of its prized grammatical complexities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hence why we have so many\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/french-influence-on-the-english-language\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">English words of French origin<\/a>. As time went out, even the Normans started to speak a mix of Old English and French, much like the development of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/miami-slang-beginners-guide-to-cuban-american-spanglish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spanglish<\/a>\u00a0today\u00a0in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.czh1xatpqdhc\"><strong>Could English Actually Be a Creole?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some linguists even have theories, more specifically the <strong>Middle English Creole Hypothesis<\/strong>, that the English language was a creole language, seeing as it is typical of creoles to blend words of two different languages but take on vastly simpler grammar structures than the \u201cmaster\u201d language. This would explain why English lost all of the genders and noun cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the general consensus is that when the first English dictionary was published in 1604,&nbsp;<strong>English was and still is a proto-Germanic language with French and Latin influence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, German is not very far from the English language at all. We use Germanic words every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.shdawvv4j93z\"><strong>German to English Cognates:&nbsp;37 Everyday Germanic Words in English<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyday German phrases&nbsp;and German to English cognates (basically word cousins) are super prevalent in our daily language and will really help you jump headfirst into the language. Check out these everyday Germanic words in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.8o12tjiabygb\"><strong>1. <em>Allein<\/em><\/strong>   (Alone)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.nqydp763mbl0\">2. <em><strong>Apfel<\/strong><\/em>   (Apple)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.8naic0o1peqk\">3. <strong><em>Blau<\/em><\/strong>   (Blue)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.p94or4mlvylh\">4. <strong><em>Buch<\/em><\/strong>   (Book)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.i2eiqype6wje\">5. <strong><em>Denken<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp; (To think)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.x19v9kble31s\">6. <em><strong>Eis<\/strong><\/em>   (Ice, ice cream)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.m1hxkz3xxdyv\">7.<strong> <em>Ellbogen<\/em><\/strong>   (Elbow)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.m5inh4k7xt6e\">8. <strong><em>Finger<\/em><\/strong>   (Finger)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.20j2yks5w3h9\">9. <strong><em>Gast<\/em><\/strong>   (Guest)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.nglikbldb7sj\">10. <strong><em>Gehen<\/em><\/strong>   (To go)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.ag2i1snjdyct\">11. <strong><em>Glas<\/em><\/strong>  (Glass)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.gojtzu2puylu\">12. <strong><em>Gr\u00fcn<\/em><\/strong>  (Green)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.7tlj21h5g2t9\">13. <strong><em>Haar<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;  (Hair)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.tra9l3g87ttp\">14. <strong><em>Heilig<\/em><\/strong> &nbsp; (Holy)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.mw1osmhlifhu\">15. <strong><em>Herz<\/em><\/strong>   (Heart)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.g9lgza6sc7mk\">16. <strong><em>Juwel<\/em><\/strong> &nbsp; (Jewel)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.6au31qypbtgs\">17.<strong> <em>Knie<\/em><\/strong>   (Knee)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.q83iupjjq354\">18. <strong><em>Kuh<\/em><\/strong> &nbsp; (Cow)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.jsuvyw7okfmw\">19.<strong> <em>Lernen<\/em><\/strong>   (To learn)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.1vtcx23jngvm\">20. <strong><em>Milch<\/em><\/strong>   (Milk)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.1hrucn70u2yp\">21. <strong><em>Mutter<\/em><\/strong>   (Mother)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.nqdtnuxtqop2\">22. <strong><em>Mund<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;   (Mouth)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.ypt3vi3htcjz\">23. <strong><em>Nackt<\/em><\/strong>   (Naked)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.3s2lkhdkx6ip\">24.  <strong><em>Nase<\/em><\/strong>   (Nose)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.qob72dif1m3i\">25.<strong><em>Neu<\/em><\/strong>   (New)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.ytj3hd89n1x1\">26.<strong> <em>Nuss<\/em><\/strong>   (Nut)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.igk2856hn6rj\">27. <strong><em>Oft<\/em><\/strong>   (Often)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.6pba1vnf5u39\">28. <strong><em>Preis<\/em><\/strong>   (Prize)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.r0p46lyd0lvq\">29. <strong><em>Sehen<\/em><\/strong>   (To see)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.qpi56s9zbu4p\">30. <strong><em>Schule<\/em><\/strong>   (School)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.2gqtpgpt1kk4\">31. <strong><em>Schulter<\/em><\/strong>   (Shoulder)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.kd85aqmhi2po\">32. <strong><em>Sohn<\/em><\/strong>   (Son)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.haldooe70crp\">33. <strong><em>Stein<\/em><\/strong>   (Stone)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.eyjndv23ngl9\">34. <strong><em>Tanzen<\/em><\/strong>   (To dance)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.f0ugsoln5krn\">35. <strong><em>Trinken<\/em><\/strong>   (To drink)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.t2ikij14qick\">36. <strong><em>Vater <\/em><\/strong>  (Father)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.wi0lky4dt6ij\">37.&nbsp;<strong><em>Wasser<\/em><\/strong>   (Water)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.dbbegp7df9kv\">Now <strong>Take&nbsp;Your German Language Skills to the Next Level<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"413\" src=\"https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/Pimsleur-Subscription-Free-Trial.png\" alt=\"pimsleur language learning slang\" class=\"wp-image-12314\" style=\"width:496px;height:291px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/Pimsleur-Subscription-Free-Trial.png 701w, https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/Pimsleur-Subscription-Free-Trial-300x177.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>See? German isn\u2019t as complicated (or&nbsp;<em>kompliziert<\/em>) as you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Try a free week of access to our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/learn-german\/\">German language lessons<\/a>\u00a0online or through our app\u00a0to discover core vocabulary, pronunciation, quizzes, videos, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>37 Everyday English Words that Came From German (&amp; Why) Did you know that the first dictionary of the English-language was published in 1604? That\u2019s right, my friends. Our precious language is not that old. It may not come as a surprise to many that English is a mutt language, the result of countless invasions <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/\">Read More >><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":29625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,166],"tags":[28,2411,2416,58],"class_list":["post-12141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language-learning","category-science-of-language","tag-english","tag-europe","tag-german","tag-language-learning-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>English-German Cognates - Common English Words Derived From German | The Pimsleur Language Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is English a Germanic Language or a Latin Language? 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Let&#039;s look at some English-German Cognates - Germanic words in English that we use constantly in our everyday lives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Pimsleur Language Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Pimsleur\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-08T14:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T14:57:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/English-German-Cognates.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"797\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"338\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Madison Rittenhouse\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pimsleur\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pimsleur\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Madison Rittenhouse\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Madison Rittenhouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fa7461aaa7d639c8cab6334ef12ec5aa\"},\"headline\":\"English-German Cognates &#8211; Common English Words Derived From German\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-08T14:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-20T14:57:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/\"},\"wordCount\":986,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/English-German-Cognates.png\",\"keywords\":[\"English\",\"Europe\",\"German\",\"Language Learning\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Language Learning\",\"The Science of Language\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/\",\"name\":\"English-German Cognates - Common English Words Derived From German | The Pimsleur Language Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/english-words-derived-from-german\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3brn974kg3172.cloudfront.net\/2019\/11\/English-German-Cognates.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-08T14:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-20T14:57:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Is English a Germanic Language or a Latin Language? 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