<taking notes> ah likes this
gosh ah feel like i back in school oui.
We have such rich history that many of us don't even know about. Even those who know don't appreciate it... for instance we were Spanish from 1498 until 1797... three hundred years. Yet the Spanish footprint in TnT is very tiny, why is that? We were officially French for a year or two before the British took control in 1797 and we've been British ever since. That explains why we speak English and why there are so many English aspects to our culture.
The French, despite being in charge for only a year or two has had a much...MUCH.. larger impact on our society... why is that? People need to be curious about these kinda things because it has shaped who we are as a people. Down to the way we phrase many things. We don't say "it is cold" or "I am 20 years", we say "it making cold" or "I have 20 years" why?
I don't know French, but I know Spanish and given the common romantic roots it's easily explained. Spanish for "It is cold" = "hace frio", hacer meaning "to make" => literally "it makes cold". The french construction would be identical. Same for "I am 20 years old". Sp. = "tengo veinte anos" ("I have 20 years"). Again this is how it would be rendered in French as well. But it's in the 18th and 19th century that all the action took place... that's when modern TnT took it's shape. That's the history that's lost.