Britspeak By Gregory Till

[ravip]

Why do the British like using excess letters (for example, ‘colour’ instead of ‘color’, ‘cheque’ instead of ‘check’, ‘analogue’ instead of ‘analog’, etc.)?
It’s a big secret. People outside the UK aren’t generally informed of this, but in the interests of education, truth and beauty, here we go. 
The English language is not, technically, a language. It is difficult to define what it is, but the best description is that it is the absolute pinnacle of psychological warfare. I know that sounds crazy, but bear with me.

https://www.englishskillsone.com/miscellaneous/c/0/i/34469158/britspeak

 

[sandrabbit]

My understanding is that it's where English comes from, it's two thirds Latin and one third Germanic. The words you have quoted are French.