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v. t. e. 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. [ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ] The namesake of the language is the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to Britain.
- Richard Nordquist
- Spoken Worldwide. A third of the world's population speaks English as a first or secondary language, over 2 billion people. Tony Reilly noted an earlier estimate in "English Changes Lives" in Britain's The Sunday Times, "There are now estimated to be 1.5 billion English speakers globally: 375 million who speak English as their first language, 375 million as a second language and 750 million who speak English as a foreign language."
- When English Was First Spoken. English derived from a Proto-Indo-European language spoken by nomads wandering Europe about 5,000 years ago. German also came from this language.
- Evolution of the English Language. In the Norman conquest in 1066, the Norman French dialect (which was French with a Germanic influence) arrived in Britain.
- Usage of Modern English. Many scholars consider the early Modern English period to have begun about 1500. During the Renaissance, English incorporated many words from Latin via French, from classical Latin (not just church Latin), and Greek.
Oct 12, 2024 · English language, a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family that is closely related to the Frisian, German, and Dutch languages. It originated in England and is the dominant language of the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. It has become the world’s lingua franca.
- The English language is an Indo-European language in the West Germanic language group. Modern English is widely considered to be the lingua franca...
- As of 2020 there are 1.27 billion English speakers around the world. This makes it the most spoken language, ahead of Mandarin Chinese (1.12 billio...
- There has been much public and academic debate on whether African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a dialect of English or its own separate la...
- Having emerged from the dialects and vocabulary of Germanic peoples—Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—who settled in Britain in the 5th century CE, English...
- English is not the official language of the United States of America. The country does not have an official language on the federal level. Many sta...
the English (plural noun): the people of England. English (adjective): relating to England or its people (or the language) English is a language— originally the language of the people of England. Today, English is the main language of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and more than fifty ...
LANGUAGE definition: 1. a system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar: 2. a system of…. Learn more.
English is a language that started in Anglo-Saxon England. It is originally from Anglo-Frisian and Old Saxon dialects. English is now used as a global language. There are about 375 million native speakers (people who use it as their first language) in the world. [ 3 ] Scots is the language closest to English.
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