98-469: The Fundació Ramon Llull ( Catalan pronunciation: [fundəsiˈo rəˈmoɲ ˈʎuʎ] , English : "Ramon Llull Foundation"), also known by the acronym FRL , is an international organization constituted in 2008 in order to promote Catalan language and culture internationally. Its members are the following institutions from countries and regions where Catalan language is spoken: the Government of Andorra ,
196-569: A Romance language , it includes words from Gaulish and Germanic languages , especially Old Frankish . Since English is of Germanic origin, words that have entered English from the Germanic elements in French might not strike the eye as distinctively from French. Conversely, as Latin gave many derivatives to both the English and the French languages, ascertaining that a given Latinate derivative did not come to
294-546: A mixed language or a creole —a theory called the Middle English creole hypothesis . Although the great influence of these languages on the vocabulary and grammar of Modern English is widely acknowledged, most specialists in language contact do not consider English to be a true mixed language. English is classified as a Germanic language because it shares innovations with other Germanic languages including Dutch , German , and Swedish . These shared innovations show that
392-635: A 2012 official Eurobarometer poll (conducted when the UK was still a member of the EU), 38 percent of the EU respondents outside the countries where English is an official language said they could speak English well enough to have a conversation in that language. The next most commonly mentioned foreign language, French (which is the most widely known foreign language in the UK and Ireland), could be used in conversation by 12 percent of respondents. A working knowledge of English has become
490-875: A Germanic origin (mainly through Old Frankish ) (see also French words of Germanic origin ). The Norman origin of the British monarchy is visible in expressions like Prince Regent , heir apparent , Princess Royal where the adjective is placed after the noun , like in French. The vocabulary of heraldry has been heavily influenced by French ( blazon , or , argent , sable , gules , passant ), for more details see tinctures , attitudes , and charges of heraldry. Sometimes used in heraldry, some mythological beasts ( cockatrice , dragon , griffin , hippogriff , phoenix , wyvern ) or exotic animals ( lion , leopard , antelope , gazelle , giraffe , camel , zebu , elephant , baboon , macaque , mouflon , dolphin , ocelot , ostrich , chameleon ) draw their name from French. It
588-651: A distinct language from Modern English and is virtually impossible for 21st-century unstudied English-speakers to understand. Its grammar was similar to that of modern German: nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs had many more inflectional endings and forms , and word order was much freer than in Modern English. Modern English has case forms in pronouns ( he , him , his ) and has a few verb inflections ( speak , speaks , speaking , spoke , spoken ), but Old English had case endings in nouns as well, and verbs had more person and number endings. Its closest relative
686-484: A foreign language, make up the "expanding circle". The distinctions between English as a first language, as a second language, and as a foreign language are often debatable and may change in particular countries over time. For example, in the Netherlands and some other countries of Europe, knowledge of English as a second language is nearly universal, with over 80 percent of the population able to use it, and thus English
784-418: A more restrictive or specialised meaning the second time. Consider for instance these doublets : alley / allée , chair / chaise , cream / crème , chief / chef , luminary / luminaire , liquor / liqueur , castle / château , hostel / hotel , mask / masque , necessary / nécessaire , petty / petit , ticket / etiquette , troop / troupe , vanguard / avant-garde . Note that the word in French has kept
882-520: A more standard version of English. They have many more speakers of English who acquire English as they grow up through day-to-day use and listening to broadcasting, especially if they attend schools where English is the medium of instruction. Varieties of English learned by non-native speakers born to English-speaking parents may be influenced, especially in their grammar, by the other languages spoken by those learners. Most of those varieties of English include words little used by native speakers of English in
980-688: A number of other Anglic languages, including Scots and the extinct Fingallian dialect and Yola language of Ireland. Like Icelandic and Faroese , the development of English in the British Isles isolated it from the continental Germanic languages and influences, and it has since diverged considerably. English is not mutually intelligible with any continental Germanic language, as it differs in vocabulary , syntax , and phonology . However, some of these, such as Dutch or Frisian, do show strong affinities with English, especially with its earlier stages. Unlike Icelandic and Faroese, which were isolated,
1078-935: A pioneering role in the fields of aviation ( nacelle , empennage , fuselage , fenestron , aileron , altimeter , canard , decalage , monocoque , turbine ) and automobile engineering or design ( chassis , piston , arbor , grille , tonneau , berline , sedan , limousine , cabriolet , coupé , convertible ). baba au rhum , beef , beef bourguignon , boudin , caramel , casserole , cassoulet , clafoutis , confit , consommé , cream , croissant , custard , filet mignon , fillet , foie gras , flognarde , fondant , fondue , gateau , gratin , madeleine , marmalade , mayonnaise , meringue , mille-feuille , mustard , mutton , navarin , pâté , pastry , petit four , pork , porridge , potage , pudding , puree , ragout , ratatouille , roux , salad , sauce , sausage , soufflé , soup , stew , terrine , trifle , veal , venison , vol-au-vent . Other influences include
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#17330850125201176-608: A possibility of divergence of English dialects into mutually unintelligible languages, most think a more likely outcome is that English will continue to function as a koineised language, in which the standard form unifies speakers from around the world. English is used as the language for wider communication in countries around the world. Thus English has grown in worldwide use much more than any constructed language proposed as an international auxiliary language , including Esperanto . List of English words of French origin A great number of words of French origin have entered
1274-629: A requirement in a number of occupations and professions such as medicine and computing. English has become so important in scientific publishing that more than 80 percent of all scientific journal articles indexed by Chemical Abstracts in 1998 were written in English, as were 90 percent of all articles in natural science publications by 1996 and 82 percent of articles in humanities publications by 1995. International communities such as international business people may use English as an auxiliary language , with an emphasis on vocabulary suitable for their domain of interest. This has led some scholars to develop
1372-626: A result, Old French became the language of culture and the administration, evolving into Anglo-Norman French . The majority of the population of England continued to use their Anglo-Saxon language , but it was influenced by the language of the ruling elite , resulting in pairs of words , often pertaining to different registers of language : commence / start , commerce / trade , continue / go on , depart / leave , disengage / withdraw , encounter / meet , maintain / uphold , marry / wed , menace / threat , purchase / buy , revenue / income , vend / sell , chant / sing . Walter Scott popularized
1470-407: A rich inflectional morphology and relatively free word order to a mostly analytic pattern with little inflection and a fairly fixed subject–verb–object word order . Modern English relies more on auxiliary verbs and word order for the expression of complex tenses , aspects and moods , as well as passive constructions , interrogatives , and some negation . The earliest form of English
1568-744: A significant minority speaks English. The countries with the most native English speakers are, in descending order, the United States (at least 231 million), the United Kingdom (60 million), Canada (19 million), Australia (at least 17 million), South Africa (4.8 million), Ireland (4.2 million), and New Zealand (3.7 million). In these countries, children of native speakers learn English from their parents, and local people who speak other languages and new immigrants learn English to communicate in their neighbourhoods and workplaces. The inner-circle countries provide
1666-447: A verb ending ( present plural): From the 8th to the 11th centuries, Old English gradually transformed through language contact with Old Norse in some regions. The waves of Norse (Viking) colonisation of northern parts of the British Isles in the 8th and 9th centuries put Old English into intense contact with Old Norse , a North Germanic language. Norse influence was strongest in the north-eastern varieties of Old English spoken in
1764-552: Is Old Frisian , but even some centuries after the Anglo-Saxon migration, Old English retained considerable mutual intelligibility with other Germanic varieties. Even in the 9th and 10th centuries, amidst the Danelaw and other Viking invasions, there is historical evidence that Old Norse and Old English retained considerable mutual intelligibility, although probably the northern dialects of Old English were more similar to Old Norse than
1862-404: Is a language other than French — e.g., ice cream , sunray , jellyfish , killjoy , lifeguard , and passageway — and English-made combinations of words of French origin — e.g., grapefruit ( grape + fruit ), layperson ( lay + person ), mailorder , magpie , marketplace , surrender , petticoat , and straitjacket . This list excludes words that come from French, but were introduced into
1960-2296: Is also the case of some animals native of Europe (via Anglo-Norman: buzzard , coney , eagle , egret , falcon , ferret , heron , leveret , lizard , marten , rabbit , salmon , squirrel , viper ). The vocabulary of warfare and the military include many words and expressions of French origin ( accoutrements , aide-de-camp , army , artillery , battalion , bivouac , brigade , camouflage , carabineer , cavalry , cordon sanitaire , corps , corvette , dragoon , espionage , esprit de corps , état major , fusilier , grenadier , guard , hors-de-combat , infantry , latrine , legionnaire , logistics , matériel , marine , morale , musketeer , officer , pistol , platoon , reconnaissance / reconnoitre , regiment , rendezvous , siege , soldier , sortie , squad , squadron , surrender , surveillance , terrain , troop , volley ). This includes military ranks: admiral , captain , colonel , corporal , general , lieutenant , sergeant . Many fencing terms are also from French. The political/economic lexicon include many words of French origin like money , treasury , exchequer , commerce , finance , tax , liberalism , capitalism , materialism , nationalism , plebiscite , coup d'état , regime , sovereignty , state , administration , federal , bureaucracy , constitution , jurisdiction , district . The judicial lexicon has been heavily influenced by French ( justice , judge , jury , attorney , court , case ). attaché , chargé d'affaires , envoy , embassy , chancery , diplomacy , démarche , communiqué , aide-mémoire , détente , entente , rapprochement , accord , treaty , alliance , passport , protocol . art , music , dance , theatre , author , stage , paint , canvas , perform , harmony , melody , rhythm , trumpet , note , director , gallery , portrait , brush , pallet , montage , surrealism , impressionism , fauvism , cubism , symbolism , art nouveau , gouache , aquarelle , collage , render , frieze , grisaille . aisle , arcade , arch , vault , voussoir , belfry , arc-boutant , buttress , bay , lintel , estrade , facade , balustrade , terrace , lunette , niche , pavilion , pilaster , porte cochère . France played
2058-459: Is also undergoing change under the influence of American English, fuelled by the strong presence of American English in the media and the prestige associated with the United States as a world power. As of 2016 , 400 million people spoke English as their first language , and 1.1 billion spoke it as a secondary language. English is the largest language by number of speakers . English
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#17330850125202156-603: Is also widely used in media and literature, and the number of English language books published annually in India is the third largest in the world after the US and UK. However, English is rarely spoken as a first language, numbering only around a couple hundred-thousand people, and less than 5% of the population speak fluent English in India. David Crystal claimed in 2004 that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in
2254-407: Is an official language of countries populated by few descendants of native speakers of English. It has also become by far the most important language of international communication when people who share no native language meet anywhere in the world. The Indian linguist Braj Kachru distinguished countries where English is spoken with a three circles model . In his model, Kachru based his model on
2352-528: Is called Old English or Anglo-Saxon ( c. 450–1150 ). Old English developed from a set of West Germanic dialects, often grouped as Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic , and originally spoken along the coasts of Frisia , Lower Saxony and southern Jutland by Germanic peoples known to the historical record as the Angles , Saxons , and Jutes . From the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons settled Britain as
2450-576: Is either the official language or one of the official languages in 59 sovereign states (such as India , Ireland , and Canada ). In some other countries, it is the sole or dominant language for historical reasons without being explicitly defined by law (such as in the United States and United Kingdom ). It is a co-official language of the United Nations , the European Union , and many other international and regional organisations. It has also become
2548-424: Is routinely used to communicate with foreigners and often in higher education. In these countries, although English is not used for government business, its widespread use puts them at the boundary between the "outer circle" and "expanding circle". English is unusual among world languages in how many of its users are not native speakers but speakers of English as a second or foreign language. Many users of English in
2646-517: Is spoken by communities on every continent and on islands in all the major oceans. The countries where English is spoken can be grouped into different categories according to how English is used in each country. The "inner circle" countries with many native speakers of English share an international standard of written English and jointly influence speech norms for English around the world. English does not belong to just one country, and it does not belong solely to descendants of English settlers. English
2744-777: Is the third person pronoun group beginning with th- ( they, them, their ) which replaced the Anglo-Saxon pronouns with h- ( hie, him, hera ). Other core Norse loanwords include "give", "get", "sky", "skirt", "egg", and "cake", typically displacing a native Anglo-Saxon equivalent. Old Norse in this era retained considerable mutual intelligibility with some dialects of Old English, particularly northern ones. Englischmen þeyz hy hadde fram þe bygynnyng þre manner speche, Souþeron, Northeron, and Myddel speche in þe myddel of þe lond, ... Noþeles by comyxstion and mellyng, furst wiþ Danes, and afterward wiþ Normans, in menye þe contray longage ys asperyed, and som vseþ strange wlaffyng, chyteryng, harryng, and garryng grisbytting. Although, from
2842-943: The Anglic languages in the British Isles , and into the Frisian languages and Low German /Low Saxon on the continent. The Frisian languages, which together with the Anglic languages form the Anglo-Frisian languages , are the closest living relatives of English. Low German/Low Saxon is also closely related, and sometimes English, the Frisian languages, and Low German are grouped together as the North Sea Germanic languages, though this grouping remains debated. Old English evolved into Middle English , which in turn evolved into Modern English. Particular dialects of Old and Middle English also developed into
2940-587: The Anglo-Norman language . Because Norman was spoken primarily by the elites and nobles, while the lower classes continued speaking English, the main influence of Norman was the introduction of a wide range of loanwords related to politics, legislation and prestigious social domains. Middle English also greatly simplified the inflectional system, probably in order to reconcile Old Norse and Old English, which were inflectionally different but morphologically similar. The distinction between nominative and accusative cases
3038-594: The Anglo-Saxons . Late Old English borrowed some grammar and core vocabulary from Old Norse , a North Germanic language . Then, Middle English borrowed vocabulary extensively from French dialects , which are the source of approximately 28% of Modern English words , and from Latin , which is the source of an additional 28% . As such, though most of its total vocabulary comes from Romance languages , Modern English's grammar, phonology, and most commonly used words in everyday use keep it genealogically classified under
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3136-479: The Augustinian canon Orrm , which highlights the blending of both Old English and Anglo-Norman elements in English for the first time. In Wycliff'e Bible of the 1380s, the verse Matthew 8:20 was written: Foxis han dennes, and briddis of heuene han nestis . Here the plural suffix -n on the verb have is still retained, but none of the case endings on the nouns are present. By the 12th century Middle English
3234-537: The Danelaw area around York, which was the centre of Norse colonisation; today these features are still particularly present in Scots and Northern English . The centre of Norsified English was in the Midlands around Lindsey . After 920 CE, when Lindsey was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon polity, English spread extensively throughout the region. An element of Norse influence that continues in all English varieties today
3332-532: The European Free Trade Association , Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) set English as their organisation's sole working language even though most members are not countries with a majority of native English speakers. While the European Union (EU) allows member states to designate any of the national languages as an official language of
3430-950: The Ramon Llull Institute (through which the governments of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands participate), the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales , the city council of Alghero and the Network of Valencian Cities. The foundation is named after Ramon Llull , a medieval writer and philosopher from the Balearic Islands, who is considered the first notable writer in the Catalan language and contributed substantially to its development. FRL headquarters are in Andorra la Vella ,
3528-584: The United Nations at the end of World War II , English had become pre-eminent and is now the main worldwide language of diplomacy and international relations. It is one of six official languages of the United Nations. Many other worldwide international organisations, including the International Olympic Committee , specify English as a working language or official language of the organisation. Many regional international organisations such as
3626-754: The classical roots , Latin or Ancient Greek , occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thus words from Old French saw their spelling re-Latinized. Although in most cases this did not affect their pronunciation (e.g. debt , doubt , indict , mayor ), in some cases it did (e.g. abnormal , adventure , benefit ). The ph transcription of words of Greek etymology was restored instead of the f . Thus fantosme became phantom , fesan became pheasant . This move occurred also in French, although less systematically: Old French farmacie became pharmacie ("pharmacy"), fenix became phénix ("phoenix"), but fantosme became fantôme ("phantom, ghost") and fesan became faisan ("pheasant"). Beside re-Latinization that blurred
3724-577: The conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, but it developed further in the period from 1150 to 1500. With the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the now-Norsified Old English language was subject to another wave of intense contact, this time with Old French , in particular Old Norman French , influencing it as a superstrate. The Norman French spoken by the elite in England eventually developed into
3822-511: The palatalisation of consonants that were velar consonants in Proto-Germanic (see Phonological history of Old English § Palatalization ). The earliest varieties of an English language, collectively known as Old English or "Anglo-Saxon", evolved from a group of North Sea Germanic dialects brought to Britain in the 5th century. Old English dialects were later influenced by Old Norse -speaking Viking invaders and settlers , starting in
3920-558: The "outer circle" countries are countries such as the Philippines , Jamaica , India , Pakistan , Singapore , Malaysia and Nigeria with a much smaller proportion of native speakers of English but much use of English as a second language for education, government, or domestic business, and its routine use for school instruction and official interactions with the government. Those countries have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from an English-based creole to
4018-596: The 8th and 9th centuries. Middle English began in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest of England, when a considerable amount of Old French vocabulary was incorporated into English over some three centuries. Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the start of the Great Vowel Shift and the Renaissance trend of borrowing further Latin and Greek words and roots, concurrent with
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4116-595: The Angles. English may have a small amount of substrate influence from Common Brittonic, and a number of possible Brittonicisms in English have been proposed, but whether most of these supposed Brittonicisms are actually a direct result of Brittonic substrate influence is disputed. Old English was divided into four dialects: the Anglian dialects ( Mercian and Northumbrian ) and the Saxon dialects ( Kentish and West Saxon ). Through
4214-512: The British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s, former colonies often did not reject English but rather continued to use it as independent countries setting their own language policies. For example, the view of the English language among many Indians has gone from associating it with colonialism to associating it with economic progress, and English continues to be an official language of India. English
4312-537: The Early Modern period includes the works of William Shakespeare and the translation of the Bible commissioned by King James I . Even after the vowel shift the language still sounded different from Modern English: for example, the consonant clusters /kn ɡn sw/ in knight , gnat , and sword were still pronounced. Many of the grammatical features that a modern reader of Shakespeare might find quaint or archaic represent
4410-578: The English Language , which introduced standard spellings of words and usage norms. In 1828, Noah Webster published the American Dictionary of the English language to try to establish a norm for speaking and writing American English that was independent of the British standard. Within Britain, non-standard or lower class dialect features were increasingly stigmatised, leading to the quick spread of
4508-541: The English language , to the extent that many Latin words have come to the English language. Up to 45% of all English words have a French origin. This suggests that 80,000 words should appear in this list. This list, however, only includes words imported directly from French, such as both joy and joyous , and does not include derivatives formed in English of words borrowed from French, including joyful , joyfulness , partisanship , and parenthood . It excludes combinations of words of French origin with words whose origin
4606-414: The English language via French can be difficult in a few cases. Most of the French vocabulary now appearing in English was imported over the centuries following the Norman Conquest of 1066, when England came under the administration of Norman-speaking peoples. William the Conqueror invaded the British Isles , distributing lands and property to Norman , Breton , Flemish , and French soldiers. As
4704-480: The English language via a language other than French, which include commodore , domineer , filibuster , ketone , loggia , lotto , mariachi , monsignor , oboe , paella , panzer , picayune , ranch , vendue , and veneer . English words of French origin can also be distinguished from French words and expressions used by English speakers . Although French is derived mainly from Latin , which accounts for about 60% of English vocabulary either directly or via
4802-543: The English-speaking inner circle countries outside Britain helped level dialect distinctions and produce koineised forms of English in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority of immigrants to the United States without British ancestry rapidly adopted English after arrival. Now the majority of the United States population are monolingual English speakers. English has ceased to be an "English language" in
4900-399: The French one with Old French words, at least in spelling if not in pronunciation: e.g. apostle (O.Fr. apostle / M.Fr. apôtre ), castle (O.Fr. castel or chastel / M.Fr. château ), forest (O.Fr. forest / M.Fr. forêt ), vessel (O.Fr. vaissel / M.Fr. vaisseau ). Other Old French words have even disappeared from Modern French: dandelion . On the other hand, a move to restore
4998-412: The French origin of some words (e.g. foliage , peradventure ), other modifications in spelling have included folk etymology alterations, e.g. andiron , belfry , crayfish , cutlet , female , furbelow , gillyflower , gingerbread , penthouse , pickaxe , pulley . The spelling of some words was changed to keep the pronunciation as close to the original as possible (e.g. leaven ). In other cases,
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#17330850125205096-990: The French spelling was kept and resulted in totally different pronunciation than French (e.g. leopard , levee ). Terms that most recently entered the English language have kept French pronunciation and spelling ( ambiance , aplomb , arbitrage , armoire , atelier , barrage , bonhomie , bourgeoisie , brochure , bureau , café , camaraderie , catalogue , chandelier , chauffeur , coiffure , collage , cortège , crèche , critique , debris , décor , dénouement , depot , dossier , élite , entourage , ennui , entrepreneur , espionage , expertise , exposé , fatigue , financier , garage , genre , glacier , intrigue , liaison , lingerie , machine , massage , millionaire , mirage , montage , panache , parti pris , penchant , personnel , plaque , programme , promenade , rapport , rapporteur , repertoire , reservoir , routine , sabotage , sachet , souvenir , tableau , terrain , tranche ), though this may change with time, e.g.
5194-512: The French words that made their way into the English language were coined by French speaking inventors, discoverers or pioneers, or scientists: cinema , television , helicopter , parachute , harmonium , bathyscaphe , lactose , lecithin , bacteriophage , chlorophyll , mastodon , pterodactyl , oxide , oxygen , hydrogen , carbon , photography , stethoscope , thermometer , stratosphere , troposphere . Some French words were named after French people, from their family name, especially in
5292-625: The Germanic branch. It exists on a dialect continuum with Scots and is then most closely related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages . English is an Indo-European language and belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . Old English originated from a Germanic tribal and linguistic continuum along the Frisian North Sea coast, whose languages gradually evolved into
5390-550: The Roman economy and administration collapsed . By the 7th century, this Germanic language of the Anglo-Saxons became dominant in Britain , replacing the languages of Roman Britain (43–409): Common Brittonic , a Celtic language , and British Latin , brought to Britain by the Roman occupation. At this time, these dialects generally resisted influence from the then-local Brittonic and Latin languages. England and English (originally Ænglaland and Ænglisc ) are both named after
5488-490: The Union, in practice English is the main working language of EU organisations. Although in most countries English is not an official language, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language . In the countries of the EU, English is the most widely spoken foreign language in nineteen of the twenty-five member states where it is not an official language (that is, the countries other than Ireland and Malta ). In
5586-527: The ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to Britain . It is the most spoken language in the world, primarily due to the global influences of the former British Empire (succeeded by the Commonwealth of Nations ) and the United States . English is the third-most spoken native language , after Standard Chinese and Spanish ; it is also the most widely learned second language in the world, with more second-language speakers than native speakers. English
5684-407: The base from which English spreads to other countries in the world. Estimates of the numbers of second language and foreign-language English speakers vary greatly from 470 million to more than 1 billion, depending on how proficiency is defined. Linguist David Crystal estimates that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1. In Kachru's three-circles model,
5782-449: The basis for the required controlled natural languages Seaspeak and Airspeak, used as international languages of seafaring and aviation. English used to have parity with French and German in scientific research, but now it dominates that field. It achieved parity with French as a language of diplomacy at the Treaty of Versailles negotiations in 1919. By the time of the foundation of
5880-404: The beginning, Englishmen had three manners of speaking, southern, northern and midlands speech in the middle of the country, ... Nevertheless, through intermingling and mixing, first with Danes and then with Normans, amongst many the country language has arisen, and some use strange stammering, chattering, snarling, and grating gnashing. Middle English is often arbitrarily defined as beginning with
5978-469: The capital of Andorra . Its president is the head of government of Andorra . Since 2022, its manager is Andorran Author Teresa Colom . English language English is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , whose speakers, called Anglophones , originated in early medieval England on the island of Great Britain . The namesake of the language is the Angles , one of
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#17330850125206076-406: The case for all English words of French origin. Consider, for example, some of the most common words in English : able , car , chair , city , country , different , fact , fine , fruit , group , journey , juice , just , large , move , part , people , person , place , point , problem , public , push , real , remain , stay , table , travel , use , very , and wait . After
6174-638: The consensus of educated English speakers around the world, without any oversight by any government or international organisation. American listeners readily understand most British broadcasting, and British listeners readily understand most American broadcasting. Most English speakers around the world can understand radio programmes, television programmes, and films from many parts of the English-speaking world. Both standard and non-standard varieties of English can include both formal or informal styles, distinguished by word choice and syntax and use both technical and non-technical registers. The settlement history of
6272-461: The de facto lingua franca of diplomacy, science , technology, international trade, logistics, tourism, aviation, entertainment, and the Internet . English accounts for at least 70% of total speakers of the Germanic language branch, and as of 2021 , Ethnologue estimated that there were over 1.5 billion speakers worldwide. Old English emerged from a group of West Germanic dialects spoken by
6370-476: The development of English was influenced by a long series of invasions of the British Isles by other peoples and languages, particularly Old Norse and French dialects . These left a profound mark of their own on the language, so that English shows some similarities in vocabulary and grammar with many languages outside its linguistic clades —but it is not mutually intelligible with any of those languages either. Some scholars have argued that English can be considered
6468-467: The distinct characteristics of Early Modern English. In the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, written in Early Modern English, Matthew 8:20 says, "The Foxes haue holes and the birds of the ayre haue nests." This exemplifies the loss of case and its effects on sentence structure (replacement with subject–verb–object word order, and the use of of instead of the non-possessive genitive), and
6566-401: The early period of Old English were written using a runic script . By the 6th century, a Latin alphabet was adopted, written with half-uncial letterforms . It included the runic letters wynn ⟨ ƿ ⟩ and thorn ⟨ þ ⟩ , and the modified Latin letters eth ⟨ ð ⟩ , and ash ⟨ æ ⟩ . Old English is essentially
6664-539: The educational reforms of King Alfred in the 9th century and the influence of the kingdom of Wessex , the West Saxon dialect became the standard written variety . The epic poem Beowulf is written in West Saxon, and the earliest English poem, Cædmon's Hymn , is written in Northumbrian. Modern English developed mainly from Mercian, but the Scots language developed from Northumbrian. A few short inscriptions from
6762-408: The expanding circle use it to communicate with other people from the expanding circle, so that interaction with native speakers of English plays no part in their decision to use the language. Non-native varieties of English are widely used for international communication, and speakers of one such variety often encounter features of other varieties. Very often today a conversation in English anywhere in
6860-775: The fields of science ( ampere , appertisation , baud , becquerel , braille , coulomb , curie , daguerreotype , pascal , pasteurise , vernier ), botany and mineralogy ( begonia , bougainvillea , clementine , magnolia , dolomite , nicotine ), fashion and style or any other cultural aspect ( lavalier , leotard , recamier , mansard , chauvinism , kir , praline , saxophone , silhouette , guillotine). The names of certain cities in non-francophone regions/countries entered English with French spelling ( Louisville , Constance , Ypres , Bruges , Louvain , Turin , Milan , Plaisance , Florence , Rome , Naples , Syracuse , Vienna , Prague , Munich , Cologne , Aix-la-Chapelle , Seville , Constantinople ). In North America ,
6958-502: The following centuries, and from the Renaissance onward borrowings were mainly made from Parisian French , which became the de facto standard language of France. Norman rule of England had a lasting impact on British society. Words from Anglo-Norman or Old French include terms related to chivalry ( homage , liege , peasant , seigniorage , suzerain , vassal , villain ) and other institutions ( bailiff , chancellor , council , government , mayor , minister , parliament ),
7056-494: The general meaning: e.g. château in French means "castle" and chef means "chief". Even when not imported several times in different forms, loanwords from French generally have a more restrictive or specialised meaning than in French: e.g. legume (in Fr. légume means "vegetable"), gateau (in Fr. gâteau means "cake"). In some cases, the English language has been more conservative than
7154-710: The growing economic and cultural influence of the United States and its status as a superpower following the Second World War has, along with worldwide broadcasting in English by the BBC and other broadcasters, caused the language to spread across the planet much faster. In the 21st century, English is more widely spoken and written than any language has ever been. As Modern English developed, explicit norms for standard usage were published, and spread through official media such as public education and state-sponsored publications. In 1755, Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of
7252-479: The history of English was Early Modern English (1500–1700). Early Modern English was characterised by the Great Vowel Shift (1350–1700), inflectional simplification, and linguistic standardisation. The Great Vowel Shift affected the stressed long vowels of Middle English. It was a chain shift , meaning that each shift triggered a subsequent shift in the vowel system. Mid and open vowels were raised , and close vowels were broken into diphthongs . For example,
7350-407: The history of how English spread in different countries, how users acquire English, and the range of uses English has in each country. The three circles change membership over time. Countries with large communities of native speakers of English (the inner circle) include Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, where the majority speaks English, and South Africa, where
7448-760: The idea of an Anglo-Norman nobility eating the meats from the corresponding animals raised by the Anglo-Saxon peasants : beef / ox , mutton / sheep , veal / calf , pork / pig , but this duality, with the word of French origin restricted to its culinary sense, occurred centuries after the Norman conquest and might owe more to the enduring prestige of French cuisine than to a hypothetical specialization of tasks. Words of French origin often refer to more abstract or elaborate notions than their Anglo-Saxon equivalents (e.g. liberty / freedom , justice / fairness , source / spring , vision / sight ), and are therefore of less frequent use in everyday language . This may not be
7546-403: The inner-circle countries, and they may show grammatical and phonological differences from inner-circle varieties as well. The standard English of the inner-circle countries is often taken as a norm for use of English in the outer-circle countries. In the three-circles model, countries such as Poland, China, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt, and other countries where English is taught as
7644-524: The introduction of loanwords from French ( ayre ) and word replacements ( bird originally meaning "nestling" had replaced OE fugol ). By the late 18th century, the British Empire had spread English through its colonies and geopolitical dominance. Commerce, science and technology, diplomacy, art, and formal education all contributed to English becoming the first truly global language. English also facilitated worldwide international communication. English
7742-467: The introduction of the printing press to London. This era notably culminated in the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare . The printing press greatly standardised English spelling, which has remained largely unchanged since then, despite a wide variety of later sound shifts in English dialects. Modern English has spread around the world since the 17th century as a consequence of
7840-431: The languages have descended from a single common ancestor called Proto-Germanic . Some shared features of Germanic languages include the division of verbs into strong and weak classes, the use of modal verbs , and the sound changes affecting Proto-Indo-European consonants, known as Grimm's and Verner's laws . English is classified as an Anglo-Frisian language because Frisian and English share other features, such as
7938-431: The names of colours ( ecru , mauve , beige , carmine , maroon , blue , orange , violet , vermilion , turquoise , lilac , perse , russet , scarlet , cerise ), vegetables or fruits ( courgette , aubergine , cabbage , carrot , cherry , chestnut , cucumber , nutmeg , quince , spinach , lemon , orange , apricot ), and months of the year ( January , March , May , July , November , December ). Some of
8036-559: The names of some of the Native American peoples or First Nations the French came in contact with first are from French ( Sioux , Saulteaux , Iroquois , Nez Perce , Huron , Cheyenne , Algonquin ). It is also the case of some place names such as Canada , Arkansas , Illinois , Maine , Michigan , Vermont , Baton Rouge , Boise , Chicago , Des Moines , Detroit . Some words from Old French have been imported again from Middle French or Modern French , but have generally taken
8134-435: The organisation of religion ( abbey , clergy , cloister , diocese , friar , mass , parish , prayer , preach , priest , sacristy , vestment , vestry , vicar ), the nobility ( baron , count , dame , duke , marquis , prince , sir ), and the art of war ( armour , baldric , dungeon , hauberk , mail , portcullis , rampart , surcoat ). Many of these words related to the feudal system or medieval warfare have
8232-426: The prestige varieties among the middle classes. In modern English, the loss of grammatical case is almost complete (it is now only found in pronouns, such as he and him , she and her , who and whom ), and SVO word order is mostly fixed. Some changes, such as the use of do-support , have become universalised. (Earlier English did not use the word "do" as a general auxiliary as Modern English does; at first it
8330-657: The reign of Henry V . Around 1430, the Court of Chancery in Westminster began using English in its official documents , and a new standard form of Middle English, known as Chancery Standard , developed from the dialects of London and the East Midlands . In 1476, William Caxton introduced the printing press to England and began publishing the first printed books in London, expanding the influence of this form of English. Literature from
8428-580: The rise of Henry Plantagenet to the throne of England , other forms of dialectal French gained influence at the expense of Anglo-Norman French , notably the variants of Anjou where the House of Plantagenet came from, and possibly Poitevin , the tongue of Eleanor of Aquitaine . With the English claim to the throne of France , the influence of the language in use at the royal court of France in Paris increased. The cultural influence of France remained strong in
8526-464: The sense of belonging only to people who are ethnically English . Use of English is growing country-by-country internally and for international communication. Most people learn English for practical rather than ideological reasons. Many speakers of English in Africa have become part of an "Afro-Saxon" language community that unites Africans from different countries. As decolonisation proceeded throughout
8624-474: The southern dialects. Theoretically, as late as the 900s AD, a commoner from certain (northern) parts of England could hold a conversation with a commoner from certain parts of Scandinavia. Research continues into the details of the myriad tribes in peoples in England and Scandinavia and the mutual contacts between them. The translation of Matthew 8:20 from 1000 shows examples of case endings ( nominative plural, accusative plural, genitive singular) and
8722-455: The study of English as an auxiliary language. The trademarked Globish uses a relatively small subset of English vocabulary (about 1500 words, designed to represent the highest use in international business English) in combination with the standard English grammar. Other examples include Simple English . The increased use of the English language globally has had an effect on other languages, leading to some English words being assimilated into
8820-412: The vocabularies of other languages. This influence of English has led to concerns about language death , and to claims of linguistic imperialism , and has provoked resistance to the spread of English; however the number of speakers continues to increase because many people around the world think that English provides them with opportunities for better employment and improved lives. Though some mention
8918-473: The word bite was originally pronounced as the word beet is today, and the second vowel in the word about was pronounced as the word boot is today. The Great Vowel Shift explains many irregularities in spelling since English retains many spellings from Middle English, and it also explains why English vowel letters have very different pronunciations from the same letters in other languages. English began to rise in prestige, relative to Norman French, during
9016-785: The world may include no native speakers of English at all, even while including speakers from several different countries. This is particularly true of the shared vocabulary of mathematics and the sciences. English is a pluricentric language , which means that no one national authority sets the standard for use of the language. Spoken English, including English used in broadcasting, generally follows national pronunciation standards that are established by custom rather than by regulation. International broadcasters are usually identifiable as coming from one country rather than another through their accents , but newsreader scripts are also composed largely in international standard written English . The norms of standard written English are maintained purely by
9114-539: The world, but the number of English speakers in India is uncertain, with most scholars concluding that the United States still has more speakers of English than India. Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca , is also regarded as the first world language . English is the world's most widely used language in newspaper publishing, book publishing, international telecommunications, scientific publishing, international trade, mass entertainment, and diplomacy. English is, by international treaty,
9212-438: The worldwide influence of the British Empire and the United States. Through all types of printed and electronic media in these countries, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and professional contexts such as science, navigation , and law. Its modern grammar is the result of a gradual change from a dependent-marking pattern typical of Indo-European with
9310-405: Was adopted in parts of North America, parts of Africa, Oceania, and many other regions. When they obtained political independence, some of the newly independent states that had multiple indigenous languages opted to continue using English as the official language to avoid the political and other difficulties inherent in promoting any one indigenous language above the others. In the 20th century
9408-511: Was fully developed, integrating both Norse and French features; it continued to be spoken until the transition to early Modern English around 1500. Middle English literature includes Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales , and Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur . In the Middle English period, the use of regional dialects in writing proliferated, and dialect traits were even used for effect by authors such as Chaucer. The next period in
9506-500: Was lost except in personal pronouns, the instrumental case was dropped, and the use of the genitive case was limited to indicating possession . The inflectional system regularised many irregular inflectional forms, and gradually simplified the system of agreement, making word order less flexible. The transition from Old to Middle English can be placed during the writing of the Ormulum . The oldest Middle English texts that were written by
9604-533: Was only used in question constructions, and even then was not obligatory. Now, do-support with the verb have is becoming increasingly standardised.) The use of progressive forms in -ing , appears to be spreading to new constructions, and forms such as had been being built are becoming more common. Regularisation of irregular forms also slowly continues (e.g. dreamed instead of dreamt ), and analytical alternatives to inflectional forms are becoming more common (e.g. more polite instead of politer ). British English
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