Difference between revisions of "English language"
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| − | English is the language of the [[United States of America|United States]], [[The United Kingdom|Great Britain]], and other former members of the [[British Empire]]. Due to the enormous political | + | English is the language of the [[United States of America|United States]], [[The United Kingdom|Great Britain]], and other former members of the [[British Empire]]. Due to the enormous political and economic influence of the these nations, English functions as the world's major international language. |
| − | In its origins, English is a member of both the Germanic and Romance language families, and owes some of | + | In its origins, English is a member of both the Germanic and Romance language families, and owes some of its structure to each. This is largely due to the conquest of Saxon-speaking [[England]] by [[French]] speaking Normans in 1066 AD. Since that time, English has continued to grow and evolve, borrowing thousands of words from other languages, among them [[French]], [[Latin]], [[Greek]], and [[Spanish]], as well as generating new words of its own. In large part as a result, English has one of the largest lexicons (vocabularies) of any world language, and is particularly rich in [[synonym]]s and near-synonyms. It is the primary (native) language of approximately 400 million people worldwide, as well as a secondary, or learned language of 600 million more. There are estimated to be nearly one billion people currently learning English. |
The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person from the United Kingdom born in the country of England. | The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person from the United Kingdom born in the country of England. | ||
Revision as of 23:58, March 12, 2007
English is the language of the United States, Great Britain, and other former members of the British Empire. Due to the enormous political and economic influence of the these nations, English functions as the world's major international language.
In its origins, English is a member of both the Germanic and Romance language families, and owes some of its structure to each. This is largely due to the conquest of Saxon-speaking England by French speaking Normans in 1066 AD. Since that time, English has continued to grow and evolve, borrowing thousands of words from other languages, among them French, Latin, Greek, and Spanish, as well as generating new words of its own. In large part as a result, English has one of the largest lexicons (vocabularies) of any world language, and is particularly rich in synonyms and near-synonyms. It is the primary (native) language of approximately 400 million people worldwide, as well as a secondary, or learned language of 600 million more. There are estimated to be nearly one billion people currently learning English.
The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person from the United Kingdom born in the country of England.