Q: What would English look like if it followed the grammar of German?

by Vlad Andreev (From Quora)

Have you geheard, we should to the German Grammar overswitch? That have i already yesterday gemade. The German Grammar could, itself tofirst, strange sound, but you will perhaps discover that it not so difficult is. It is yes only a Matter of Wordorder… wait but. Have i “geheard” gesaid? I estimate once, that there also other Factors be could.

Firstens, the Verbs. The Present Perfect in English is not the same as the Perfekt Timeform on German. On German, corresponds she to the Simple Past on English, in the last Years becomes but also increasingly employed in order all past Forms to indicate. The perfective Aspect, on German, is with the Gerundform geformed. So, now say we Things so like “gefound” and “geshopped” and “atgelooked”.

Wait, “atgelooked”? Right. Whereas on the old Language, we Things “looked at”, now we Things “atlook”. This is a separable Verb, so the Gerundmarker becomes in the Word insidegeinserted.

Secondens, the Nouns. Each has a grammatical Gender, and it must with the Pronouns match in anaphoric Situations (in this Answer, i want it to avoid, new Morphemes to withupcome, or from the Old English to borrow: so it’s called the Phrase, not þ?os Phrase, is but still toreferred as she).

If one with the Goal operates, new Words not towardstoadd, and the existing Inflections to reuse (“in the last Years”, not “in the lasts Years”, because the adjectival Plural unmarked in English is), then are we already more or less there. Some Littlehoods remain: Questionwordorder, Compoundnouns, certain Verbconjugationdetails and a few more, but in the Principle should you on Denglish communicate can. Much Luck!

ANOTHER:

English: Here is a little demonstration of what English would roughly feel like if it had essentially the same grammar as German. Word order would perhaps be the most difficult for modern English speakers trying to understand it, but word inflections would be particularly hard to produce correctly, especially because of noun genders.

English with German grammar: Here is a little demonstration thereof, how English itself rough feelen would, if it in’t General thesame Grammar hadde, as German. That wordorder weré perhaps the biggest Understandingdifficulty for Speaker of’t modernen English, but Wordendings weren particular difficult correct to producen, before all because of thes’ gendern’s thes’ nounen’s.

German with English grammar: Hier ist ein klein demonstration von wie Englisch ungefährlich würd fühl, wenn es hatte wesentlichlich de selb grammatik wie Deutsch. Wortfolge war vielleicht de meist schwierig für modern Englisch sprechers versuchend zu verstehen es, aber wort endungs würd sein besonders schwer zu reproduzier richtiglich, vor all wegen von substantiv geschlechts.

German: Hier ist eine kleine Demonstration davon, wie sich Englisch ungefähr anfühlen würde, wenn es im Wesentlichen dieselbe Grammatik hätte, wie Deutsch. Die Wortstellung wäre vielleicht die größte Verständnisschwierigkeit für Sprecher des modernen Englisch, aber Wortendungen wären besonders schwer richtig zu reproduzieren, vor allem wegen der Geschlechter der Substantive.

Apr 20, 2018 9:54am