Why do we speak English, and not French, or German?

Answer 1

Language evolves based on migration, colonization, and a huge list of other factors. To trace the origin of specific things, you have to wade through a lot of history......and this has two aspects: The political history where you live, and your family history.

Apply all this to English, and you also need to distinguish between all the dialects: British, American, and Australian---as a minimum

Answer 2

The English language came to the United States with English settlers and continues to be our primary language because of its role in government. However, in a sense, we do speak French and German. What I mean is, English is a language heavily influenced by other languages, including French and German. Some words we have borrowed directly, like rendezvous and etiquette from French, or angst and kindergarten from German. Other words are just influenced from these languages. This is what can make English so tricky to learn. Why is the 'h' in honest silent when the 'h' in honey is not? Because honest has roots in Latin, where the 'h' isn't directly pronounced, but honey is Germanic in root. What other words can you think of that we "borrowed" from other languages?