A number of Chinese researchers from the World Civilization Research Association made the bold claim that English and other European languages are mere dialects rooted in Mandarin.
The scholars, an overwhelming majority of which are from Chinese academic institutions, support their claims with reportedly 20 years of research.
They presented their research at the first China International Frontier Education Summit in Beijing, China held in July 2019.
The group’s vice president and secretary-general, Zhai Guiyun, talked to Chinese and Taiwanese media regarding his studies.
He explained how English words such as “yellow” and “heart” are similar to the Mandarin words “yeluo” meaning “leaf drop” and “hede” meaning “core.” Zhai also said there are numerous other examples.
Zhai explained, “Of course, the pronunciation will be a little different, which is caused by the variations in pronunciation over hundreds or even thousands of years in different regions. Think about how significant the differences are in our regional dialects… so it can be said that English is like a ‘dialect’ in our country.”
He also claimed that French, German, and Russian languages are rooted in Mandarin.
The scholars from the group even said that historical accounts of ancient Greek, Rome, and Egypt are fabricated by Europeans.
“Before the 15th and 16th centuries, Europe had no history, only myths and legends… Europe was a primitive society before the Middle Ages,” Zhai said.
“The West has been swaying in the face of a long history of splendid Chinese history, and it took nearly 500 years to falsify Western history,” he added.
Linguists, through a long history of academic research, established that English is a west Germanic language brought to the country by early Anglo-Saxon settlers and eventually influenced by Romantic languages due to the Norman Conquest.
Loan words in English exist due to early trade and interaction with Mandarin merchants.
Even Chinese netizens on Weibo scoffed at the claims made by the group./TISG