The Germanic input

Germanic people were in contact with the Roman Empire, working as mercenaries or rural workers. As soon as the 3rd century CE some settled in Gaul. Others came as invaders during the crumbling of the Roman Empire.

Gaul saw a reduction of the Latin influence with Germanic settlements & invasions. This brought on a simplification of Latin, which had already started. Settlers were often of military stock granted lands after their service. These newcomers spoke a non educated language called Vulgar Latin. Some likely did not have Latin as their mother tongue. This might explain why sometimes Roman languages have words with different Latin origins but corresponding meanings. For instance to eat is manger in French but comer in Spanish (the 1st comes from Latin manducare, meaning to chew, to masticate, while the 2nd comes from Latin comere; to eat).

On the boundaries of Gaul some non Romance languages strengthened or maintained their vitality, as we will see in the following post.

2nd post

Folkish France

The Germanic input

Germanic people were in contact with the Roman Empire, working as mercenaries or rural workers. As soon as the 3rd century CE some settled in Gaul. Others came as invaders during the crumbling of the Roman Empire.

Gaul saw a reduction of the Latin influence with Germanic settlements & invasions. This brought on a simplification of Latin, which had already started. Settlers were often of military stock granted lands after their service. These newcomers spoke a non educated language called Vulgar Latin. Some likely did not have Latin as their mother tongue. This might explain why sometimes Roman languages have words with different Latin origins but corresponding meanings. For instance to eat is manger in French but comer in Spanish (the 1st comes from Latin manducare, meaning to chew, to masticate, while the 2nd comes from Latin comere; to eat).

On the boundaries of Gaul some non Romance languages strengthened or maintained their vitality, as we will see in the following post.

2nd post

hottg.com/FolkishFrance/305

5.6K viewsFeb 17, 2023 at 01:28