I thought this essay was interesting, possibly because I didn't know much about the subject. https://aeon.co/essays/why-is-english-so-weirdly-different-from-other-languages
Interesting and witty take on what is often thought of as a dry subject to those not invested in linguistics. I do like that the author pointed out the following: It's often misstated that English is somehow unique in its preponderance of borrowed terms when in fact this is actually a pretty normal situation for any language that is in vigorous use. What does make English unique as regards this aspect is where other languages tend to pick one word over another, English is a bit like a packrat and holds on to both (or all three or all four) and, as stated in the article, assigns each different shades of meaning. Other languages do this too (Spanish being one where there are a host of Latinate/Arabic doublets), but not to the obsessive degree shown in English. This hodgepodge of vocabulary seems less evident in other languages when the words that were replaced no longer exist for comparison in the common tongue. In English, the evidence is in everyday use.
