English is the most spoken language in the world, and it’s pretty much monopolized global culture. But if history had taken a slightly different turn, we could have all ended up speaking a drastically different tongue: a language that people have now named “Anglish.” And despite what anyone could have predicted or expected, it’s booming in popularity.
Let’s take a look at the origins of this unusual language and why so many people are getting interested.
What is Anglish?
What we call the English language is actually a hybrid of vocabulary taken from other languages — mostly German, Latin, and French, along with some Greek.
Yet English is a Germanic language at its core, with the additional vocabulary appearing as other groups invaded Britain. Therefore, it’s still possible to speak English (so-called because it focuses only on the Anglo-Saxon roots of English) without using any of the newer additions from non-Germanic countries. This form of the language has now been termed “Anglish.”
Speaking Anglish is a form of linguistic purism, because it believes the Germanic roots are the most “pure” version of the language and aims to eliminate everything else. This is achieved by avoiding the use of English words from other languages, reviving or adapting Germanic or Old English words, and even creating new words based on the root languages.
Origins
The term was first coined satirically by Paul Jennings in an article triad for Punch back in 1966. However, although the name of the language is relatively new, the concept itself isn’t — intellectuals and thinkers have been mulling over the need for a newer English for centuries.
The first may have been a monk from Lincolnshire who wrote a book with minimal words from French and Latin.
The growth of Anglish
Your average person might not know much about linguistic purism or the history of the English language, but that hasn’t stopped Anglish from gaining traction and a loyal following.
Anglish now has its own newspaper, The Anglish Times, which writes news stories exclusively in Anglish. This is a great place for beginners (or anyone who is curious) to get more familiar with what the language looks like.
It also has its own subreddit, with almost 8,000 members, a growing Discord community, and has even gained attention from popular YouTube channels like Langfocus.
But dare you venture further into your investigation?
The Anglish community
Given the reputation of so-called grammar nazis, you might expect Anglish proponents to be pedants at best or nationalists at worst, but neither assumption is true. Most Anglish enthusiasts are very welcoming and relish fresh interest in their obscure community.
And despite common misconceptions, Anglish isn’t about hatred of French, Latin, or “foreign” words. It’s more focused on developing an awareness of the roots of the English language, learning about history, and enjoying the beauty of these older times.
The Anglish subreddit takes the following quote from Ernest Hemingway: “He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.”
Think before you speak
Even the most hardcore Anglish aficionados have no illusions that their beloved language is going to dethrone English as the world’s lingua franca any time soon (or even cross the radar of many people). But that doesn’t deter their passion, which in itself is a beautiful thing.
One thing is for sure: after discovering Anglish, you’ll never see English the same way again.
