COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE GERMAN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES: LINGUISTIC FEATURES, GLOBAL PRESENCE, AND STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES

Abstract

This study presents a thorough comparative analysis of German and English language historical and linguistic structure, vocabulary correlation, grammatical differences, and their relative worldwide distribution. Both languages are part of the West Germanic subgroup of the Indo-European family of languages and have a great deal of lexical overlap. But, while English has developed into the world's primary lingua franca with roughly 1.5B users, German remains an important source of competitiveness in regional markets and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union. Findings of interest in terms of comparison include common vocabulary (approximately 60% lexical overlap), differences in complexity of grammar, and differentiating function in international communication and education. This study aims to add value to the field of comparative linguistics as well as provide important data to support language learning and education.