Why does the English language have so many synonyms for the same word?
Modern English has an unusually large number of synonyms or near-synonyms, mainly because of the influence of very different language groups: Germanic (Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse, the main basis of English), Romance languages (Latin, French), and Greek.
Why does German have so many synonyms?
Standard German is a constructed written language, the result of levelling the German dialects so that any dialect speaker from any region can understand it. To do so, it straightens the pronunciation and takes away anything that composes the character of the dialects.
How much vocabulary is enough for German?
Long story short, research says that to understand 85\% of German, texts you need to know about 1,300 words. Not bad right? Totally doable. Plus, once you get to that point, you should know enough about how to learn German vocabulary to continue learning German practically through osmosis.
What is it called when someone uses big words to sound smart?
If someone gives a sesquipedalian speech, people often assume it was smart, even if they don’t really know what it was about because they can’t understand the words. Each of those long words is referred to as a sesquipedalia.
Which language has the biggest thesaurus?
Counting the Words in the Dictionary
| Language | Words in the Dictionary |
|---|---|
| English | 171,476 |
| Russian | 150,000 |
| Spanish | 93,000 |
| Chinese | 85,568 |
Do all languages have synonyms?
No, they don’t. In contrast to some of the other answers, I’d have to say that English likely has many more synonyms than any other language, given that it has the largest vocabulary of any language on Earth.
Why does Germany have so many words?
Many words in the German language are formed by combining two or more words, known in English as compound nouns. A long time ago, rather than coming up with new words, the smart Germans just got words they already had and shoved them together to create words that any “Dummkopf” could figure out.
Why does German have such specific words?
It’s because they are nouns made up of more than one word, or what are known as compound nouns, for example, the German word Bundesverfassungsgericht, meaning ‘Federal Constitutional Court’, is made up of three words: Bundes, the genitive of Bund, meaning ‘federal’
What does Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia mean?
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary — and, in an ironic twist, is the name for a fear of long words. Sesquipedalophobia is another term for the phobia.
How many German words do you need to learn to speak fluently?
This can look like a really big and frightening number to someone wanting to start learning German, but here’s the good news: you only need to know roughly 5\% of the total words to be fluent in German. This means that by focusing your efforts on learning the most common German words, you will be fluent in German in no time.
What are some interesting facts about the German language?
Surprising facts about the German language. German creates 23 million words from 26 letters. Doin Oakenhelm – stock.adobe.com How many people speak German as their mother language?
Why should I start with the German basics?
Starting with the German basics means you will begin by learning the easiest words first and gradually increase difficulty. This way you will feel great while learning and see how your language knowledge broadens. You’ll be able to speak to someone from Berlin or Vienna about regular topics like weather, politics or family.
How many words are there in the German language?
German is considered to be the language of science and its beauty lies in its words. The German language is estimated to be made out of a total of 300000 words with the largest German dictionary having over 135000 words.