the origin of the phrasal verbs

[hetzer]

I read somewhere that English phrasal verbs come from a certain family of the language, which, of course, affect English.
Is it true? If so, which language family? Germanic or European?

Thank you for your help.

[Raymott]

Germanic languages are European.

[Weaver67]

Not a teacher

I have heard that phrasal verbs are the result of the Germanic influence on English, and are sometimes called Anglo-Saxon verbs.

[bhaisahab]

I have never heard phrasal verbs described as "Anglo-Saxon verbs". Many phrasal verbs have Latin roots.

[Weaver67]

Not a teacher.
----------------

Thank you, bhaisahab, for pointing that out.

Some people argue that the prominent feature of some phrasal verbs to take particles as their inherent constituents is in line with the ability of German verbs to take many inflectional forms by means of suffixes and prefixes, which are either separable or inseparable. I am not sure that this similarity can prove that there is a direct line of descent, nor do I feel that I am in a position to completely reject it. To be honest, I have never intended to do a thorough research on the question of their origin: the matter is rather complicated and is of no practical use to me; although I must admit the term "Anglo-Saxon verb" does sound rather intriguing.


If the OP is still interested in this question, the following discussion on another forum might be interesting:http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/vie...&view=previous

[Tdol]

I have never heard phrasal verbs described as "Anglo-Saxon verbs". Many phrasal verbs have Latin roots.

Neither have I. However, I would say that the majority of phrasal verbs do not come from Latin or French.