Dutch vocabulary is predominantly Germanic in origin, with an additional share of loanwords of 20%. The main foreign influence on Dutch vocabulary since the 12th century and culminating in the French period has been French and (northern) French, accounting for an estimated 6.8%, or more than a third of all loanwords. Latin, that has been spoken for centuries in the south of the Low Countries, and has since then for centuries plaid a major role as the language of science and religion, follows with 6.1%. High German and Low German, influential until the mid of the 19th century, account for 2.7%, but are mostly unrecognizable since many German loanwords have been "Dutchified", e.g. German "Fremdling" become Dutch "vreemdeling". From English, Dutch has taken over words since the middle of the 19th century, as a consequence of the gaining power of Britain and the United States. The share of English loanwords is about 1.5%, but this number is still on the increase. Conversely, Dutch contributed many loanwords to English, accounting for 1.3%.