How similar is English to Frisian?

Frisian is the language most closely related to English and Scots, but after at least five hundred years of being subject to the influence of Dutch, modern Frisian in some aspects bears a greater similarity to Dutch than to English; one must also take into account the centuries-long drift of English away from Frisian.

Do Dutch people understand Frisian?

I am raised in a region where West Frisian is spoken, keep in mind that this is NOT Frisian, Frisian is a separate language closer to English than Dutch, West Frisian is very good understandable by Dutch speakers, it has some oddities like the word Huis (house in English), which is pronounced heus, or the word meid ( …

Is Frisian difficult to understand to a native English speaker?

Frisian retains a Germanic subject-object-verb word order, while English switched to a subject-verb-object order (under the influence of French). The result is that Frisian is effectively impossible to understand to a native English speaker.

Is it possible to learn Frisian in English?

Although all of the most common words in English are Germanic in origin, and many are shared with Frisian, you have to learn vast swaths of vocabulary that will be unfamiliar. In addition, English grammar is very different. It has lost grammatical gender; you’d need to learn Frisian genders.

What is an example of Frisian?

As a native Frisian speaker, some examples: (en ; frisiain ; dutch). Theoretically, Frisian is the language closest to English. In practice, it doesnt mean it’s easier for an englishman to learn Frisian than dutch, or german.

Is English a difficult language to learn?

In the meantime, the learning process can feel daunting: You want to get(Continue reading) Not really. English has changed radically since it separated from the Germanic languages. In particular, English was heavily influenced by the French invasion in 1066.