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The English language is a
West Germanic language that originates from England and is also spoken
as a native language in the other home countries of the United Kingdom,
in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South
Africa, and numerous other countries. English is now the third most
spoken native language worldwide (after Chinese and Hindi), with some
380 million speakers. It has lingua franca status in many parts of the
world, due to the military, economic, scientific, political and
cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries
and that of the United States from the mid 20th century to the present.
Through the global influence of native English speakers in cinema,
airlines, broadcasting, science, and the Internet in recent decades,
English is now the most widely learned second language in the world.
Many students worldwide are required to learn some English, and a
working knowledge of English is required in many fields and
occupations. Two-thirds of the world's native English speakers speak
some form of American English.
History
English is a West Germanic language that originated from languages
brought to Britain during the first half of the first millennium by
Germanic settlers from various parts of north-west Germany. The
original Germanic language was subsequently influenced by two
successive waves of invasion. The first was by speakers of languages in
the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family, who colonised parts of
Britain in the eighth and ninth centuries. The second wave was of the
Normans in the 11th century, who spoke a variety of French. These two
invasions caused English to become highly 'creolised'; creolisation
arises from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who
develop a hybrid tongue for basic communication. Cohabitation with the
Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and
lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Friesian core of English; the later
Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core a more
elaborate layer of words from the Romance branch of European languages;
this new layer entered English through use in the courts and
government. Thus, English developed into a 'borrowing' language of
considerable suppleness and huge vocabulary.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, around the year 449, Vortigern,
King of the British Isles, invited the "Angle kin" (Angles, led by
Hengest and Horsa) to help him against the Picts. In return, the Angles
were granted lands in the south-east. Further aid was sought, and in
response "came men of Ald Seaxum of Anglum of Iotum" (Saxons, Angles,
and Jutes). The Chronicle talks of a subsequent influx of settlers who
eventually established seven kingdoms, known as the heptarchy. Modern
scholarship considers most of this story to be legendary and
politically motivated.
These Germanic invaders dominated the original Celtic-speaking
inhabitants, whose languages survived largely in Scotland, Wales,
Cornwall, and Ireland. The dialects spoken by the invaders formed what
would be called Old English, which resembled some coastal dialects in
what are now Holland and north-west Germany. Later, it was strongly
influenced by the North Germanic language Norse, spoken by the Vikings
who settled mainly in the north-east (see Jorvik). The new and the
earlier settlers spoke languages from different branches of the
Germanic family; many of their lexical roots were the same or similar,
although their grammars were more distant, including the prefixes,
suffixes and inflections of many of their words. The Germanic language
of these Old English inhabitants of Britain would be partly creolised
by the contact with Norse invaders. This resulted in a stripping away
of much of the grammar of Old English, including gender and case, with
the notable exception of the pronouns; thus, the language became
simpler and plainer. The most famous work from the Old English period
is the epic poem "Beowulf," by an unknown poet.
For the 300 years following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman
kings and the high nobility spoke only a variety of French. A large
number of Norman words were assimilated into Old English, with some
words doubling for Old English words (for instance ox/beef,
sheep/mutton). The Norman influence reinforced the continual evolution
of the language over the following centuries, resulting in what is now
referred to as Middle English. Among the changes was a broadening in
the use of a unique aspect of English grammar, the 'continuous' tenses,
with the suffix '-ing'. During the 15th century, Middle English was
transformed by the Great Vowel Shift, the spread of a standardised
London-based dialect in government and administration, and the
standardising effect of printing. Modern English can be traced back to
around the time of William Shakespeare. The most well-known work from
the Middle English period is Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.
Classification and related languages
The English language belongs to the western sub-branch of the Germanic
branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The closest living
relative of English is Scots (Lallans), a West Germanic language spoken
mostly in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland. Like English, Scots
is a direct descendant of Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon.
After Scots, the next closest relatives are Frisian—spoken in the
Netherlands and Germany—and Low Saxon, spoken primarily in northern
Germany. Other less closely related living languages include Dutch,
Afrikaans, German and the Scandinavian languages. Many French words are
also intelligible to an English speaker (pronunciations are not always
identical, of course), because English absorbed a tremendous amount of
vocabulary from French, via the Norman language after the Norman
conquest and directly from French in further centuries; as a result, a
substantial share of English vocabulary is quite close to the French,
with some minor spelling differences (word endings, use of old French
spellings, etc.), as well as occasional differences in meaning.
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Geographic distribution
 English
is the second- or third-most widely spoken language in the world today;
a total of 600-700 million people use English regularly. About 377
million people use English as their mother-tongue and an equal number
of people use it as their second or foreign language. It is used widely
in either the public or private sphere in more than 100 countries all
over the world. In addition, the language has occupied a primary place
in international academic and business communities. The current status
of the English language compares with that of Latin in the past.
English is the primary language in Australia (Australian English), the
Bahamas, Barbados (Caribbean English), Bermuda, Dominica, Gibraltar,
Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica (Jamaican English), New Zealand (New Zealand
English), Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom
(British English), the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the United States
(American English). Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Irish are also indigenous
languages in the United Kingdom.
English is also one of the primary languages of the Belize (with
Spanish), Canada (with French), India (with Hindi and 21 other state
languages), Ireland (with Irish), Malaysia & Singapore (with Malay,
Mandarin and Tamil), the Philippines (along with Tagalog), Israel
(along with Hebrew and Arabic), South Africa (along with 10 other
languages, including Zulu and Afrikaans), Uganda, Rwanda (along with
French and Kinyarwanda).
In Hong Kong, English is an official language and is widely used in
business activities. It is taught from kindergarten level, and is the
medium of instruction for a few primary schools, many secondary schools
and all universities. Substantial numbers of students acquire
native-speaker level. It is so widely used and spoken that it is
inadequate to say it is merely a second or foreign language, though
there are still many people in Hong Kong with poor or no command of
English.
The majority of English native speakers (67 to 70 percent) live in the
United States. Although the U.S. federal government has no official
languages, it has been given official status by 27 of the 50 state
governments, most of which have declared English their sole official
language. Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Mexico have also designated
Hawaiian, French, and Spanish as official languages in conjunction with
English, respectively.
In many other countries where English is not a major first language, it
is an official language; these countries include Cameroon, Fiji, the
Federated States of Micronesia, Ghana, Gambia, Kiribati, Lesotho,
Liberia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Malta, the Marshall Islands,
Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Rwanda, the Solomon
Islands, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
English is the most widely learned and used foreign language in the
world, and, as such, many linguists believe it is no longer the
exclusive cultural emblem of "native English speakers," but rather a
language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it grows in
use. Others believe that there are limits to how far English can go in
suiting everyone for communication purposes. It is the language most
often studied as a foreign language in Europe (32.6 percent), followed
by French, German, and Spanish. It is also the most studied in Japan,
South Korea and in the Republic of China (Taiwan), where it is
compulsory for most high school students. See English as an additional
language.
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English as a global language
Because English is so widely spoken, it has been referred to as a
"global language." While English is not the official language in many
countries, it is the language most often taught as a second language
around the world. It is also, by international treaty, the official
language for aircraft/airport communication. Its widespread acceptance
as a first or second language is the main indication of its global
status.
There are numerous arguments for and against English (or any language,
for that matter) as a global language. On one hand, having a global
language aids in communication and in pooling information (for example,
in the scientific community). On the other hand, it excludes those who,
for one reason or another, are not fluent. It can also marginalize
populations whose first language is not a "global language."
A secondary concern with respect to the spread of global languages
(English, Spanish, etc.) is the resulting disappearance of minority
languages, often along with the cultures and religions that are
primarily transmitted in those languages. English has been implicated
in a number of historical and ongoing so-called 'language deaths' and 'linguicides'
around the world, many of which have also led to the loss of cultural
heritage. In the Americas, Native American nations have been most
strongly affected by this phenomenon.
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Grammar
English grammar is based on its Germanic roots, though some scholars
during the 1700s and 1800s attempted to impose Latin grammar upon it,
with little success. English is just slightly inflected, much less so
than most Indo-European languages. It compensates for this by placing
more grammatical information in auxiliary words and word order. Unlike
most other Indo-European languages, nominal groups (nouns) in English
do not carry gender.
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Vocabulary
Almost without exception, Germanic words (which include all the basics
such as pronouns and conjunctions) are shorter, and more informal.
Latinate words are often regarded as more elegant or educated. However,
the excessive use of Latinate words is often mistaken for either
pretentiousness (as in the stereotypical policeman's talk of
"apprehending the suspect") or obfuscation (as in a military document
which says "neutralize" when it means "kill"). George Orwell's essay
Politics and the English Language gives a thorough treatment of this
feature of English.
An English-speaker is often able to choose between Germanic and
Latinate synonyms: "come" or "arrive"; "sight" or "vision"; "freedom"
or "liberty"—and sometimes also between a word inherited through French
and a borrowing direct from Latin of the same root word: "oversee",
"survey" or "supervise". The richness of the language is that such
synonyms have slightly different meanings, enabling the language to be
used in a very flexible way to express fine variations or shades of
thought. List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents
In everyday speech the majority of words will normally be Germanic. If
one wishes to make a forceful point in an argument in a very blunt way,
Germanic words will usually be chosen. A majority of Latinate words (or
at least a majority of content words) will normally be used in more
formal speech and writing, such as a courtroom or an encyclopedia
article.
English is noted for the vast size of its active vocabulary and its
fluidity. English easily accepts technical terms into common usage and
imports new words which often come into common usage. In addition,
slang provides new meanings for old words. In fact this fluidity is so
pronounced that a distinction often needs to be made between formal
forms of English and contemporary usage. See also sociolinguistics.
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Number of words in English
As the General Explanations at the beginning of the Oxford English
Dictionary state:
The Vocabulary of a widely diffused and highly cultivated living
language is not a fixed quantity circumscribed by definite limits....
there is absolutely no defining line in any direction: the circle of
the English language has a well-defined centre but no discernible
circumference.
The vocabulary of English is undoubtedly vast, but assigning a specific
number to its size is more a matter of definition than of calculation.
Unlike other languages, there is no Academy to define officially
accepted words. Neologisms are coined regularly in medicine, science
and technology; some enter wide usage, others remain restricted to
small circles. Foreign words used in immigrant communities often make
their way into wider English usage. Archaic, dialectal, and regional
words might be considered 'English' or not.
The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition) includes over 500,000
headwords, following a rather inclusive policy:
It embraces not only the standard language of literature and
conversation, whether current at the moment, or obsolete, or archaic,
but also the main technical vocabulary, and a large measure of
dialectal usage and slang. (Supplement to the OED, 1933).
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Word origins
One of the consequences of the French influence is that the vocabulary
of English is, to a certain extent, divided between those words which
are Germanic (mostly Old English), and those which are "Latinate"
(Latin-derived, mostly from Norman French but some borrowed directly
from Latin).
A computerised survey of about 80,000 words in the old Shorter Oxford
Dictionary (3rd edition) was published in Ordered Profusion by Thomas
Finkenstaedt and Dieter Wolff (1973) which estimated the origin of
English words as follows:
• French, including Old French and early Anglo-French: 28.3%
• Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24%
• Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and Dutch: 25%
• Greek: 5.32%
• No etymology given: 4.03%
• Derived from proper names: 3.28%
• All other languages contributed less than 1%
James D. Nicoll made the oft-quoted observation: "The problem with
defending the purity of the English language is that English is about
as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion,
English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them
unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary."
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