My headcanon theory is indeed that English is a creole language.
Mix the grammar, verbes and functional words of the lower-status people (natives, imported slaves) and nouns of the higher-status people (invaders, colonizers and masters) and boom, after a few generations you get a creole language.
This theory works surprisingly as well for English as for, for example, Caribbean creoles.
My headcanon theory is indeed that English is a creole language.
Mix the grammar, verbes and functional words of the lower-status people (natives, imported slaves) and nouns of the higher-status people (invaders, colonizers and masters) and boom, after a few generations you get a creole language.
This theory works surprisingly as well for English as for, for example, Caribbean creoles.