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Which living language is most closely related to Modern English?
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English language
Map showing the use of English as a first language, as an important second language, and as an official language in countries around the world.
The living language most closely related to Modern English is Frisian.
Both English and Frisian are classified as West Germanic languages and share a common descent from North Sea Germanic. While English is also related to other Germanic languages such as German and Dutch, Frisian is linguistically the closest relative to English.1234
It is important to note that while Frisian is the closest relative to Modern English, Icelandic is considered the living language that most closely resembles Old English in its grammatical structure.3