About Panglish
Panglish is a linguistic experiment that translates modern English words and phrases back to their Germanic etymological roots (not to be confused with the current German language). By stripping away Latin, French, and Greek borrowings, we reveal the "pure" Germanic core of the English language.
English is a Germanic language that has borrowed heavily from Romance and other languages. Panglish imagines: what if English had developed without these influences?
The last two paragraphs would have looked like this:
Panglish is a speechlore try-out that tongue-shifts same-timely English words and word-rows back to their Germanic word-birth roots (not to be mixed-up with today's German language). By stripping away Latin, French and Greek borrowings, we show the "rooted" Germanic heart of the English tongue.
English is a Germanic tongue that has borrowed strongly from "Romance" and other tongues. Panglish thinks: what if English had grown without these borrowings?
Look stuff up!
Simply type any English word or phrase (up to 50 words) into the search bar and click "Translate" to see the "Panglish" version!
- Start with simple, common words to understand the patterns
- Try both single words and short phrases
- Technical and scientific terms often have interesting Germanic alternatives
- Compare translations of synonyms to see different Germanic approaches
- Concrete objects work better than abstract concepts but try both!
How does this work?
I (@joncoded) have used, quite aptly, a large language model to generate the translation from your English input to:
- identify words with non-Germanic origins
- find Germanic root alternatives or calques
- construct natural-sounding "Panglish" expressions
- provide etymological (word origin) explanations when relevant
On top of that, I have made it a goal to ensure the translations sound natural and fluent, rather than stilted or forced. As a web developer, I also wanted to put together something that uses AI but would look more like a website.