BY SURRIYA.A.

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 English is a West Germanic language that was
first spoken in early medieval England and is
now a global lingua franca.

 It is an official language of almost 60 sovereign

states and the most commonly spoken language
in sovereign states including the United
Kingdom, the United
States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New
Zealand and a number of Caribbean nations.

 It is the third-most-common native language in

the world, after Mandarin and Spanish.
 It is widely learned as a second languageand is
an official language of the European Union and
of the United Nations, as well as of many world
 Historically, English originated from the fusion of closely related dialects,
now collectively termed Old English, which were brought to the eastern
coast of Great Britain by Germanic settlers (Anglo-Saxons) by the 5th
century; the word English is simply the modern spelling of englisc, the name
used by the Angles and Saxons for their language, after the Angles'
ancestral region of Angeln (in what is now Schleswig-Holstein). The
language was also influenced early on by the Old Norse
language through Viking invasions in the 9th and 10th centuries.

 The Norman conquest of England in the 11th century gave rise to heavy
borrowings from Norman French: thus a layer of elaborate vocabulary,
particularly in the field of governance, and some Romance-
language spelling conventions were added to what had by then
become Middle English. The Great Vowel Shift that began in the south of
England in the 15th century is one of the events that mark the emergence
of Modern English.
 In addition to native words inherited from Anglo-Saxon, and those
borrowed from Old Norse and Norman French, a significant number of
English words came into the language from Latin, because Latin was
the lingua franca of the Christian Church and of European intellectual
life for the first millennium of the development of English.

 Owing to the assimilation of words from many other languages

throughout history, modern English contains a very large vocabulary,
with complex and irregular spelling, particularly of vowels. Modern
English has not only assimilated words from other European
languages, but from all over the world. The Oxford English
Dictionary lists more than 250,000 distinct words, not including many
technical, scientific, and slang terms.
 English as a second language (ESL) is the use or study
of English by speakers with different native languages.
 English is a language which has great reach and influence; it is
taught all over the world under many circumstances. In English-
speaking countries, English language teaching has essentially
evolved in two broad directions: instruction for people who intend to
live there and for those who do not. These divisions have grown
firmer as the instructors of these two "industries" have used
differentterminology, followed distinct training qualifications, formed
separate professional associations, and so on. Crucially, these two
arms have very different funding structures, public in the former and
private in the latter, and to some extent this influences the way
schools are established and classes are held. Matters are further
complicated by the fact that the United States and the United
Kingdom, both major engines of the language, describe these
categories in different terms.
 1.English may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official
language in a large number of countries. It is estimated that the number of people in the
world that use in English to communicate on a regular basis is 2 billion.

 2.English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for
people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce, research from all over
the world shows that cross-border business communication is most often conducted in
English. Its importance in the global market place therefore cannot be understated,
learning English really can change your life.

3.Many of the world’s top films, books and music are published and produced in
English. Therefore by learning English you will have access to a great wealth of
entertainment and will be able to have a greater cultural experience.

4.Most of the content produced on the internet (50%) is in English. So knowing English
will allow you access to an incredible amount of information which may not be otherwise
available! Understanding. Although learning English can be challenging and time
consuming, we can see that it is also very valuable to learn and can create many
opportunities.
 ¾ of the World’s Mail
 ½ of the World’s technical & scientific journals
 ½ of all newspapers
 80 % of the information in computers
 All International Air Pilots
 All International Sea Captains
 Many movies, songs, and much business
 ½ of European business deals
 7 of the Largest TV Broadcasters (CBS, NBC, ABC,
BBC, CBC, CNN, C-Span)
 T V Te l e v a n g e l i s m o f C h r i s t i a n i t y ( M c C r u m 1 0 )
 Countries of the world where English is an official or de facto official language or a
majority language.

 Countries where English is an official but not majority native language

PERCENT OF NATIONAL POPULATIONS WITH
KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH