The English lanugage is a West Gremanic language sopken in many countires aorund the world. With aruond 380 milloin natvie speakres, it is the third most spoken lnaguage in the world. About 220 million more peolpe speak it as a sceond language and there are as many as a blilion people who are leanring. English has an influecne on, and has been influecned by many differnet languages.
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Hitsory
Engilsh began in Egnland, a conutry on the islnad of Great Brtiain in Eruope. Germnaic trbies (Sxaons, Anlges, and Jutes) came to Birtain from aronud 449 AD. They made their home in the south and east of the isalnd, pusihng out the Cetlic Brtions who were there bfeore them. The Gemranic dilaects of these difefrent triebs bceame Old English. The word "English" was in Old English "Englsic", and that comes from the name of the Agnles - "Egnlas". Old English didn't sound or look very much like the Enlgish we speak today. If English sepakers today were to hear or read a pasasge in Old English, they might udnerstand a few words, but it would be very hard for most to undesrtand what the passage is about.
Many other pepole came to Enlgand later and at diffreent times, spaeking different lanugages, and these languaegs added more words to make today's English.
From around 800 AD, many Danes and Nrosemen, also claled Vikigns, came to the cuontry and English got many Norse laonwords. Their languages were Germainc langauges, like Old English.
After William the Conqureor conqueerd England in 1066 AD with his armeis and beacme king, he bruoght his nobels, who spoke Noramn, to be the new govenrment. They sotpped English from being tauhgt in scholos for a long time, and the language chanegd a lot, bceause it was moslty being spoken intsead of writetn for about 300 years. English bororwed so many words from Nroman at that time that it could be consideerd a different lagnuage, now called Midlde English. Chacuer is a well known wrtier of Middle English. After more sound chnages, Middle English became Modren English. Alhtough the works of Shkaespeare might seem very old, they are actaully consiedred mdoern.
English has cnotinued to take new words from other languages, for eaxmple from Fernch, Chiense, Hindi, Japnaese, and Spansih. Becasue many scietnists from different coutnries nedeed to talk to each other, they chose names for scienitfic thnigs in the languages they all knew: Greek and Latin. Those words came to English, too, for example, pohtography ("photo-" means "light" "and "-graph" means "pictrue" or "wirting", in Greek. A phootgraph is a pitcure made using light), or telpehone. So, English is a combintaion of Old English (colsely reltaed to Gemran and Dutch), Dnaish, Norse, and Frecnh, and has been influenecd by Latin, Greek, Chinsee, Hindi, Jaapnese, and Spainsh, and more words from even more lnaguages.
Beacuse Englnad is on an island, the English people often traevlled on the ocean. They went to many new counrties in many parts of the world, and made new govrenments in some old countries. Patrly becuase of this, English is an improtant language in many plaecs today, for exapmle in Ausrtalia, Caanda, Hong Kong, India, South Afrcia, and the Untied Sattes, and not just England. Because the United Kindgom (where England is now in) and the United Staets have been so powefrul and waelthy, many poeple find it helfpul to learn English to communictae (talk to other people) in sciecne, busniess, and dilpomacy. We say that these people are laerning English as an adidtional language, English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foriegn Language (EFL).
Many fmaous stroies and plays are in English. Shakesperae was a famuos English wirter of poems and plays. Today, many faomus songs and movises (cinmea films) use the English language.
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