English language

The English language is one of about 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world. It is notable for its historical development from the speech of a few Germanic tribes living on the island of Great Britain about 1,500 years ago, to its status today as a global language, used by people of very different backgrounds to communicate - most of whom have little to do with England, the country in which English first emerged.

The historical spread of English

Main article: History of the English language

The 'journey' of English around the world began with its movement throughout the British Isles, eventually becoming the language most commonly spoken throughout the modern states of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Meanwhile, the language reached North America though colonisation, and subsequently became widely spoken in Britain's colonies, such as the settlements of Australia and Canada. As these outposts developed in economic and political importance over the centuries, so the language became an essential lingua franca - to do business other peoples inside and outside the British Empire found it advantageous to learn English as a foreign or second language.

English as a global language

An example of written English.

Speakers

Today, English may be identified as a global language, due to its widespread use in business, the internet and amongst diverse groups of people who wish to overcome a language barrier. Estimates put the number of fluent speakers at upwards of half a billion, a majority of whom are probably native speakers. However, there are many millions more with some knowledge of the language.

English as a threat to other languages

One argument concerning the apparent worldwide dominance of English is that it might be a threat to linguistic diversity, with many languages going extinct as speakers switch to English. However, evidence of this phenomenon is actually thin on the ground. Outside the 'English-speaking nations' (countries historically most closely associated with English, such as England, New Zealand and Australia), most speakers of English learn it in addition to or alongside a native language. In addition, English is by no means dominant in every sphere of influence; some evidence suggests that more blogs are written in Japanese, for example, and other tongues enjoy lingua franca status in various regions of the world. French and German, for example, are still much-used in Europe, and Swahili remains an important language for cross-cultural communication in East Africa.

Bibliography

• Crystal D (2003) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.
• Crystal D (2007) The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left.History of debates over proper English usage.
• Kachru B, Kachru Y & and Nelson C (2006) The Handbook of World Englishes.
• Lerer S (2007) Inventing English: a Portable History of the Language. Columbia University Press.
• Mair C (2006) Twentieth-Century English: History, Variation and Standardization.
• Nagle SJ & Sanders SL (2003) English in the Southern United States.

See also

• English grammar
• History of the English language