...English around the world No one can deny that the English language is acknowledged as the dominant language all over the globe. It’s a language known for being easy to be learned, flexible towards new word entries, and its rich content. In fact, about 1.5 to 2 billion people worldwide speak English. It’s considered the language of education, communication, business, and politics. Actually, it took many centuries for the English language to develop into its modern form. In this essay, more focus is put on the English language through its formation and development, its status as an international language, its role in all life’s aspects, and the variety of English around the world. The diversity between the original version of English and...
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...English Language Forrest Partlow Unemployment HUMA215 Unit 2 Individual Project October 20, 2013 English Language I am choosing to use the English language of Britain for this paper mainly because I can speak it, read it, and understand it. Well modern English I can speak, read, and understand. I was in the Navy for 12 years. My job in the navy was a Hospital Corpsman. In the medical field we still use a lot of words that have Latin origins. This is the same generally speaking of the early English language. English broke into three categories when we are speaking about the history of the English language. There is Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. I think it funny how in the 1990’s everyone wanted tattoos of their own name on them in Old English. It is funny because if they actually tried to read some Old English they would have a hard time making any words out. So the beginning of the English language is Old English and it was developed by people of the Germanic tribes migrated to Britain. This happened before the 12th century. It had a lot of Latin, French, and Old Norse influence. While if you read it you may figure out a few words it is very different from today’s spoken language. You would know such words as he, him, for and some others. You could figure out such words as name, was, were, and come, these are just some examples. From the 12th century on into the 15th...
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...Jeanne Kelly Guieb Kenneth De Torres Use of the Dictionary A dictionary is a very important tool for anyone who is learning a new language. With a good dictionary you can do the following: * look up the meaning of an English word you see or hear * find the English translation of a word in your language * check the spelling of a word * check the plural of a noun or past tense of a verb * find out other grammatical information about a word * find the synonym or antonym of a word * look up the collocations of a word * check the part of speech of a word * find out how to say a word * find out about the register of a word * find examples of the use of a word in natural language Kinds of Dictionary Descriptive Dictionaries The truth of the matter is that today virtually all English language dictionaries are descriptive. The editors will usually say that they are simply recording the language and how its words are used and spelled. True, there may be some guidance. For example, most Merriam-Webster dictionaries will note if certain words are deemed nonstandard or offensive by most users; however, the words are still included. Of modern dictionaries, only the Funk and Wagnall's contain a certain amount of prescriptive advice. All the major dictionary publishers - Merriam-Webster, Times-Mirror, World Book, and Funk and Wagnall's - will tell you that they are primarily descriptive. Historically, Dictionaries were Prescriptive This was...
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...A2 English Language Revision Guidance and Easter Work 2015 (1) Make sure you have your revision timetable worked out. Use calendar to plan work for different subjects (2) Make sure your folders/booklets/handouts are sorted out for: a. Language Diversity i. Language Change – over time (timelines, key events, language features, theories, standardisation etc) ii. Different varieties of English (American, Caribbean, Indian, theories, Kachru, divergence, creolisation, basilect, prestige forms, etc) b. Child Language Development i. Spoken Language (terms, theories, stages, etc). ii. Written language (terms, theories, stages, phonics, IPA etc). (3) For each area of the course, revise terminology, concepts, issues, theories etc (see overleaf). Booklets provide a very good starting point + VLE and links to helpful resources and sites. (4) Terminology and Method: For all questions you need to be able to use the Language Constituents and relate these to Context. So revision of Language Constituents, word classes, grammar etc is important eg you need to be quick and confident recognising features like imperatives, passive voice, noun phrase structure, different pronouns, modal verbs etc. And of course be able to comment on their effects: TERM – DEFINITION - EXAMPLE – COMMENT ON EFFECT [See the checklist overleaf.] (5) Theories and Issues. Read and makes notes on ‘Language: A Student Handbook’ (you have to give this book back after Easter). Particularly useful for...
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...English Language Importance Do you think learning English is important?English is currently the most wide spread language in the world, it is second only to Mandarin Chinese in terms of the amount of people which speak it, but second to none in terms of the number of people learning it. It is currently the primary language used on the World Wide Web, in the political and business arenas. It has even become the language of today's pop culture. So yes, I definitely think that learning English is important.While English may not have as large a quantity of speakers as Mandarin it is still more widespread and herein lays its importance. Mandarin Chinese is hardly spoken outside Chinese communities, however in many regions of the world where English is not the native language, it is still widely spoken and integrated in the curriculums of educational institutions. In many countries Malaysia, for example, where there various ethnic groups with their own unique language, English is used as a means of communications between all of them. So we see that the importance of English doesn't lie in the quantity of people that speak it but in way we use it. Today the USA's influence on world information is dominant, English, being their native tongue, the same is true for Britain. The music and other types of media that come out of these two countries are broadcast around the world. Most of the world's largest pop stars record English albums, which are played and requested in all the corners...
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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.[4][5] 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.[6] It is widely learned as a second language and is an official language of the European Union and of the United Nations, as well as of many world organisations. English arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England as a fusion of closely related dialects, now collectively termed Old English. These dialects had been brought to the south-eastern coast of Great Britain by Anglo-Saxons settlers by the 5th century. The word English is the modern spelling of englisc, the name used by the Angles and Saxons for their language, after the Angles' ancestral region of Angeln. 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.[7] The Great Vowel Shift that began in the south of England in the 15th...
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...of private study. It does not allow the copying of entire books or the making of multiple copies of extracts. Written permission for any such copying must always be obtained from the publisher in advance. iv Contents Acknowledgements iv Introduction 1 Practice Test 1 12 Practice Test 2 34 Practice Test 3 54 Practice Test 4 75 General Training Reading and Writing Modules Tapescripts Answer keys 94 107 130 Sample answer sheets 153 iii v Acknowledgements We would like to thank the staff and students of the following institutions for their assistance in trialling these materials: Wollongong English Language Centre; Australian College of English, Sydney; Hong Kong Polytechnic; Waratah Education Centre, Sydney; International House, Queensland; Milton English Language Centre, Sydney;...
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...Unit 2 Individual Project October 20, 2013 English Language I am choosing to use the English language of Britain for this paper mainly because I can speak it, read it, and understand it. Well modern English I can speak, read, and understand. I was in the Navy for 12 years. My job in the navy was a Hospital Corpsman. In the medical field we still use a lot of words that have Latin origins. This is the same generally speaking of the early English language. English broke into three categories when we are speaking about the history of the English language. There is Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. I think it funny how in the 1990’s everyone wanted tattoos of their own name on them in Old English. It is funny because if they actually tried to read some Old English they would have a hard time making any words out. So the beginning of the English language is Old English and it was developed by people of the Germanic tribes migrated to Britain. This happened before the 12th century. It had a lot of Latin, French, and Old Norse influence. While if you read it you may figure out a few words it is very different from today’s spoken language. You would know such words as he, him, for and some others. You could figure out such words as name, was, were, and come, these are just some examples. From the 12th century on into the 15th century they spoke Middle English. This has a lot more French and Latin influence than anything...
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...ORIGIN OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE INTRODUCTION What is English? English is a Germanic language of the Indo- European family (a group of hundreds of related languages and dialects including most current languages of Europe, Iranian plateau and south Asia). It is the second most spoken languages in the world. A rough estimate says that there are 300 million native speakers of English and 300 million people who speak English as a second language and 100 million speak English as a foreign language. Below is a description of countries that use English as an official language and as a second language and as a foreign language. ENGLISH AS A NATIVE LANGUAGE | ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE | ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE | Australia | Pakistan | Spain | Nigeria | Malaysia | Portugal | New Zealand | Philippines | Angola | Ghana | Papua New Guinea | France | USA | United Arab Emirates | Italy | Canada | Israel | Ukraine | Guyana | Kenya | Russia | Grenada | Tanzania | Poland | Trinidad and Tobago | Botswana | Greece | England | Uganda | China | Scotland | Mexico | Japan | Ireland | India | Hungary | Wales | Brunei | Vatican City | Sierra Leone | Cameroon | Cyprus | Liberia | Samoa | Brazil | Jamaica | Qatar | Argentina | South Africa | Malawi | Colombia | St Vincent | Malta | Venezuela | St Lucia | Mauritius | Egypt | St Christopher and Nevis | Thailand | Morocco | Barbados | Indonesia |...
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...LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN OLD ENGLISH AND MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD……………………………………………………………..5 1.1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTHARK……………………………………5 1.1.1 THE RUNIC ALPHABET AS AN OLD GERMANIC WRITING TRADITION……………………………………………………………………6 1.1.2 OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE PERIOD OF ANGLO-SAXON ETHNIC EXTENSION…………………………………………………………7 1.2 LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE ENGLISH………………..11 1.2.1 LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND AFTER THE NORMAN CONQUEST……………………………………………….……….11 1.2.2 DIALECTAL DIVERSITY IN THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD.…...13 1.3 THE MIDDLE ENGLISH CORPUS……………………………………….15 1.3.1 GEOFFREY CHAUCER AND HIS LENDING SUPPORT OF THE LONDON STANDARD’S DIFFUSION……………………………………….17 1.3.2 THE ROLE OF THE PRINTING IN THE FORMATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE………………………………………………….…….19 1.3.3 PRINCIPAL MIDDLE ENGLISH WRITTEN RECORDS AS A REFLECTION OF ONGOING CHANGES IN STANDARDIZATION………25 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………….…………....28 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………….30 APPENDIX 1……………………………………………………………………33 INTODUCTION linguistic history english language The English language has had a remarkable history. When we first catch it in historical records, it is a language of none-too-civilized tribes on the continent of Europe along the North Sea. From those murky and undistinguished beginnings, English has become the most widespread language in the world, used by more peoples for more purposes than any language on Earth. The early part of the Modern English saw the establishment...
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...“Why English Should be the Official Language of the United States.” by Brandon Brice The article “Why English Should be the Official Language of the United States.” By Brandon Brice gives a viewpoint of the struggles the United States has because of the diversity of language in the country. He argues by giving reasons why it would be beneficial for a legislation to make English the official and only language of the country, to which he argues would be a way to unite the American population. This article makes a clear statement from the beginning what the author will be talking about thought out the course. The title “Why English Should be the Official Language of the United States” is already a statement rather than a question. One can already...
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...English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic invaders and/or settlers from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Netherlands. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually became predominant. The English language underwent extensive change in the Middle Ages. Written Old English of AD 1000 is similar in vocabulary and grammar to other old Germanic languages such as Old High German and Old Norse, and completely unintelligible to modern speakers, while the modern language is already largely recognisable in written Middle English of AD 1400. The transformation was caused by two further waves of invasion: the first by speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic language family, who conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries; the second by the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman. A large proportion of the modern English vocabulary comes directly from Anglo-Norman. Close contact with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core of English. However, these changes had not reached South West England by the 9th century AD, where Old English was developed into a full-fledged literary...
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...223N March 17, 2012 Mary Beth Nipp, Instructor English language learners have been the talk for many years. They are coming to America each and every day. Most of them speak different languages as Spanish, French, and some already speak English. It has been debated and voted on in five voter driven states. The states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Oregon. The voters have been asked to make decisions about the education of the English language learners (Mora, 2009). But only three states, California (1998), Massachusetts (2002), and Arizona (2000) passed the laws for English-only learners to be put in programs, and Colorado (2002) and Oregon (2008) rejected the initiatives of the ballot (Mora, 2009). The voters were in English only groups that were against having bilingual education for the students’ (Mora, 2009). The teachers were having a hard time in learning how to teach the English language learners. But in the 1960s, the federal and state governments have created new laws and policies that give the English language students’ the rights to a meaningful and equitable education (Mora, 2009). The government also provided funds and guidelines for a transitional bilingual education program for the English language learners to help them to become educated (Mora, 2009). In the Lau v. Nichols (1974), the courts decided to take affirmative steps to protect the civil rights of the English language learners in the school districts (Mora, 2009). Because...
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...Question Using suitable examples, describe and comment upon some of the reasons for language change. Language changes, as do all things in the living world, as language reflects and affects the society which uses it. The mechanics of language change show language as a system with larger and larger scale trends, which allows us to examine the conditions necessary for change. The process of change occurs gradually, and the rate of this change does conform to a pattern. For instance, if you get an influx of foreign words, few people use them, and they spread slowly until people have become familiar with them. When they have, the word usage stabilizes. Another factor affecting language change is hyper-correction. This occurs when a sentence is corrected so frequently that the deviant form becomes the norm in spoken English. For example, the sentence Jill and me went to the fair is often corrected to Jill and I went to the fair. The result of this is that the phrase and me has become disdainful and unacceptable. The ultimate effect of this is an exaggerated use of the term and I. For example, Mother gave the book to John and I is a deviant form which has become the norm in spoken English. Research has also discovered many other reasons why language changes. William Labov conducted a study in America investigating the use of the letter r. He used three sets of shop assistants from high-class, middle-class, and lower-class stores and found that all three sets consciously...
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...History of the English Language English Language is one of the oldest Languages in the world. To become what it is today it has been through a series of changes in the course of history. The three main periods have been characterized by different influences which have made English a rich and complex language. During the 5th Century AD three Germanic tribes came to the British Isles from various parts of northwest Germany as well as Denmark. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different Germanic dialects. This group of dialects forms what linguists refer to as Old English or Anglo-Saxon. The arrival of St. Augustine in 597 and the introduction of Christianity into Saxon England brought more Latin words into the English language. Around 878 AD Danes and Norsemen, also called Vikings, invaded the country and English got many Norse words into the language. The most famous is a heroic epic poem called "Beowulf". It is the oldest known English poem and it is notable for its length - 3,183 lines. Experts say "Beowulf" was written in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The name of the person who wrote it is unknown. After William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England in 1066 AD he brought his nobles, who spoke French, to be the new government. By about 1200, England and France had split. English changed a lot, because it was mostly being spoken instead of written for about 300 years. The use of Old English came back, but with...
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