English in the World

English

English is a West Germanic language related to Dutch, Frisian and German with a significant amount of vocabulary from French, Latin, Greek and many other languages.

Approximately 341 million people speak English as a native language and a further 267 million speak it as a second language in over 104 countries including the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, American Samoa, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands and Denmark.

A brief history of English
Old English
English evolved from the Germanic languages brought to Britain by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and other Germanic tribes from about the 5th Century AD. These languages are known collectively as Anglo-Saxon or Old English, and began to appear in writing during the 5th century AD.

English acquired vocabulary from Old Norse after Norsemen starting settling in parts of Britain, particularly in the north and east, from the 9th century. To this day varieties of English spoken in northern England contain more words of Norse origin than other varieties of English. They are also said to retain some aspects of pronunciation from Old Norse.

More details of Old English

Middle English
The Norman invasion of 1066 brought with it a deluge of Norman and Latin vocabulary, and for the next three centuries English became a mainly oral language spoken by ordinary people, while the nobility spoke Norman, which became Anglo-Norman, and the clergy spoke Latin. When English literature began to reappear in the 13th century the language had lost the inflectional system of Old English, and the spelling had changed under Norman influence. For example, the Old English letters þ (thorn) and ð (eth) were replaced by th. This form of English is known as Middle English.

Modern English
By about the 15th century Middle English had evolved into Early Modern English, and continued to absorb numerous words from other languages, especially from Latin and Greek. Printing was introduced to Britain by William Caxton in around 1469, and as a result English became increasingly standardised. The first English dictionary, Robert Cawdrey's Table Alphabeticall, was published in 1604.

During the medieval and early modern periods English spread from England to Wales, Scotland and other parts of the British Isles, and also to Ireland. From the 17th century English was exported to other parts of the world via trade and colonization, and it developed into new varities wherever it went. English-based pidgins and creoles also developed in many places, such as on islands in the Caribbean and Pacific, and in parts of Africa.

Modern English alphabet


A recording of the English alphabet by Ng Kiat Quan (American English)



Pronunciation
Vowels and diphthongs
This chart shows the vowels and diphthongs used in standard varieties of English spoken in the USA, Australia, England, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland and Wales. There is significant variation in the vowel sounds used within most of these countries, and in other countries where English is spoken.



Key
AmE = American English (General American), AuE = Australian English, BrE = British English (RP), CaE = Canadian English, IrE = Irish English, NZE = New Zealand English, SAE = South African English, ScE = Scottish English, WeE = Welsh English

A recording of English vowels by Ng Kiat Quan (American English)



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Consonants


A recording of English consonants by Ng Kiat Quan (American English)



Sample text in English
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Phonetic transcription (British pronunciation)
[ɔːl ˈhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋz ə bɔːn friː ənd ˈiːkwəl ɪn ˈdɪgnɪtɪ ənd raɪts ðeɪ ə ɪnˈdaʊd wɪð ˈriːzn ənd ˈkɒnʃəns ənd ʃʊd ækt təˈwɔːdz wʌn əˈnʌðə ɪn ə ˈspɪrɪt ɒv ˈbrʌðəhʊd]

Phonetic transcription (American pronunciation)
[ɔːl ˈhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋz ɑːr bɔːrn friː ænd ˈiːkwəl ɪn ˈdɪgnɪtiː ænd raɪts ðeɪ ɑːr enˈdaʊd wɪð ˈriːzən ænd ˈkɑːnʃəns ænd ʃʊd ækt təˈwɔːrdz wʌn əˈnʌðər ɪn ə ˈspɪrɪt əv brʌðərˌhʊd]

Recordings of this text
British English by Simon Ager, Lancashire, England
American English by Crawford J. Bennett, Jr.
Australian English by Alexander Leon from Sydney, Australia
Australian English by Timothy Goldsmith from Adelaide, Australia
Indian English by Mohammad Shakeb Baig from Bhopal in India.