In my understanding, English is not a Romance language because it did not originate with a Romance language. Rather, Latin influence has snuck into the English language over time, displacing some of its more Germanic words. This would be similar to finding a boat, putting it on a trailer, and calling it a wagon. It certainly can be attached to a horse or driven around, but that does not make it a wagon; it is still a boat.
An easy way to visualize this is by trying to learn a Romance language. You will find the very way a Romance language works grammatically is completely different from English. In the same way, German or Swedish will make more sense to your brain. Often, translating can be as simple as swapping English words in a sentence with their German equivalents.
In the end, the vocabulary of a language is secondary to the organization of the language.
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