When we speak in traditional English it is common to think of British English. But the English language comes from much earlier and has undergone several changes, after all, as much as we know Romeo and Juliet, the same English that Shakespeare spoke is no longer spoken. Languages change and vary according to the culture of each place, so we often have dialects, which are large variations of the same language that, in the end, ends up looking like a new one.
However, the English we know today was born under the influence of several languages, many that are no longer spoken today. Considering the Englishman as a child, we can say that his parents were three:the Anglo-Saxons (Germanic), the Nordics and the Romanesques. Are you finding these names weird? See who they are:
Anglo-Saxons:Peoples who invaded Great Britain and settled there after the Romans left.
Nordics:Peoples of Northern Europe.
Romanesque:Peoples from the Italian Peninsula region.
Many words characteristic of English, therefore quite different from ours, are of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic origin. These peoples settled in Great Britain since the 5th century. Many people say that when you know how to speak English, it is easier to learn German. And this is true, since the origin of these two languages is the same, both came from the Anglo-Saxons and the Germans.
But why, even having the same root, these languages have many differences? This happens due to the other influences that these languages received. The Celts influenced the formation of English, but not much, as the great marks of the Celtic language remained in Scottish and Irish (but don't forget that in Ireland and Scotland the most spoken language is English with its characteristic accents).
The Roman Empire continued to maintain contact with England, so we can see some marks left by Latin (the language spoken by the Romans). This language is one of the great foundations of the Portuguese language, so English words from Latin are often familiar to us. Ex.:liberty (freedom), martyr (martyr), angel (angel), disciple (disciple) etc.
The next most important influence was that of the Danes and Scandinavians who invaded Great Britain in the 9th and 10th centuries. These two peoples were generally called Vikings. Their influence was greater than that of the Celts, and words such as call (to call/to telephone), take (to take), leg (leg), which are still widely used today, are the result of the latter.
Around 1066, the English throne passed into the hands of French-speaking and Catholic Normans. Therefore, in England we see a great influence of the Romance languages (basically French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) which are based on Latin, as already mentioned. The Latin words were generally about law and government (justice-justice/tax-tax) and abstract concepts like charity and conflict.
Since then, there have been many comings and goings of the influences of various languages on English, after all, the language varies according to the customs and culture of each people. If many languages influence English, it influences Portuguese considerably. It is very important that there are cultural and linguistic exchanges between peoples, but it is also necessary to preserve the language and expressions of a people. We can use English words in Portuguese, but we must not forget that our language is very rich and it is often unnecessary to borrow words from others, as we can express ourselves well and creatively with our own language.
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