German – French similarities

Although they are not very close, French and German do have some similarities. What are the similarities between French and German, assuming that they are not connected to grammar and pronunciation?

Similarities between French and German language, specifically lexical density, centre on this. Both have a combined 29% lexical similarity, indicating a substantial proportion of similarity. Many of these words’ meanings, meanwhile, are not universally understood.

They are most similar to one another in this regard, but French has a significantly larger number of lexical similarities with Latin languages than it does with German.

The relationship between French and German is unusual not because of how much they share, but rather because they share anything at all.

Historical Reasons

French shares certain parallels with languages like German and English due to its extensive Germanic influences.

Some of these influences came from the Normans, who were Scandinavians who totally assimilated the French way of life to become Frenchmen (including their language). They were in Normandy, but William the Conqueror’s Normans eventually conquered England.