English
Pronunciation:	/ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/[1]
Spoken in:	Listed in the article
Total speakers:	First language: 309–400 million Second language: 199–1,400 million[2][3] Overall: 0. 5–1. 8 billion[3]
Ranking:	3 (native speakers)[4][5] Total: 1 or 2 [6]
Language family:	Indo-European  Germanic   West Germanic    Anglo–Frisian     Anglic      English
Writing system:	Latin (English variant)
Official status
Official language in:	53 countries United Nations European Union Commonwealth of Nations
Regulated by:	no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	en
ISO 639-2:	eng
ISO 639-3:	eng
Countries where English is a majority language are dark blue; countries where it is an official but not a majority language are light blue. This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic family of Languages and include languages such as English The Anglo-Frisian languages (sometimes Insular Germanic) are a group of Ingvaeonic West Germanic languages consisting of Old English Anglic (from Latin Anglicus meaning English, cf Germanic) is a term for what are also known as Englishes, in for example World A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. The modern English alphabet consists of 26 letters derived from the Latin alphabet: History See also History of the The following is a list of Sovereign states and territories where English is an Official language, in order of Population. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in This is a list of bodies that regulate Standard languages Natural languages Auxiliary languages Interlingua The auxiliary language ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages English is also one of the official languages of the European Union. The languages of the European Union are Languages used by people within the member states of the European Union.
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

English is an Indo-European, West Germanic language originating in England, and is the first language for most people in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Anglophone Caribbean. The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic family of Languages and include languages such as English England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The term Anglophone Caribbean is used to refer to the independent English -speaking countries of the Caribbean region It is used extensively as a second language and as an official language throughout the world, especially in Commonwealth countries and in many international organizations. A second language (L2 is any Language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1 An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory International Organization is a peer-reviewed Academic journal that covers the entire field of International affairs.

Significance

Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca^[7][8], is the dominant international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomacy^[9]. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely Linguistic Imperialism is a book by Robert Phillipson, published 1992 by Oxford University Press (ISBN 0 19 437146 8 An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) or interlanguage is a Language meant for communication between people from Communication is the process of conveying information from a sender to a receiver with the use of a medium in which the communicated information is understood the same way Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to Aviation refers to activities involving man-made flying devices ( Aircraft) including the people organizations and regulatory bodies involved with them See also Entertainment (disambiguation and The Entertainer (disambiguation Entertainment is an activity designed to give people Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states The initial reason for its enormous spread beyond the bounds of the British Isles where it was originally a native tongue was the British Empire, and by the late nineteenth century its influence had won a truly global reach^[10]. The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar It is the dominant language in the United States and the growing economic and cultural influence of that federal union as a global superpower since World War II has significantly accelerated adoption of English as a language across the planet^[8]. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the federal union Federal Union is a Pro-European British group launched in November 1938, to advocate a Federal Union of Europe as a post-war aim A superpower is a State with a leading position in the international system and the ability to Influence events and project power on a worldwide scale World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

A working knowledge of English has become a requirement in a number of fields, occupations and professions such as medicine and as a consequence over a billion people speak English to least a basic level (see English language learning and teaching).

Linguists such as David Crystal recognise that one impact of this massive growth of English, in common with other global languages, has been to reduce native linguistic diversity in many parts of the world historically, most particularly in Australasia and North America, and its huge influence continues to play an important role in language attrition. In the Philosophy of language, a natural language (or ordinary language) is a Language that is spoken or written in phonemic-alphabetic or phonemically-related Australasia is a Region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring Islands in the Pacific Language attrition is the loss of a first or second Language or a portion of that language by individuals it should be distinguished from language loss within a community (the By a similar token, historical linguists, aware of the complex and fluid dynamics of language change, are always alive to the potential English contains through the vast size and spread of the communities that use it and its natural internal variety, such as in its creoles and pidgins, to produce a new family of distinct languages over time. Historical linguistics (also called diachronic linguistics) is the study of language change Language change is the manner in which the phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of a language are modified over time An English-based creole language, or English creole for short is a Creole language that was significantly influenced by the English language. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family

English is one of six official languages of the United Nations. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security

History

Main article: History of the English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers and Roman auxiliary troops from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Northern Netherlands. English is a West Germanic language which originated from the Anglo-Frisian Dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic family of Languages and include languages such as English The Anglo-Frisian languages (sometimes Insular Germanic) are a group of Ingvaeonic West Germanic languages consisting of Old English See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually came to dominate. The original Old English language was then influenced by two waves of invasion. The first was by language speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family; they conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries. The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages The second was the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066, although These two invasions caused English to become "mixed" to some degree (though it was never a truly mixed language in the strict linguistic sense of the word; mixed languages arise from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who develop a hybrid tongue for basic communication).

Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical supplementation of the Anglo-Frisian core of English; the later Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more elaborate layer of words from the Italic branch of the European languages. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family's Centum branch This Norman influence entered English largely through the courts and government. Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of great flexibility and with a huge vocabulary.

Classification and related languages

The English language belongs to the western sub-branch of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. The closest living relative of English is Scots, spoken primarily in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, which is viewed by linguists as either a separate language or a group of dialects of English. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern The next closest relative to English after Scots is Frisian, spoken in the Northern Netherlands and Northwest Germany. Other less closely related living West Germanic languages include German, Low Saxon, Dutch, and Afrikaans. The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic family of Languages and include languages such as English The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. West Low German (also known as Low Saxon) is a group of Low German dialects spoken in western portions of the German state of Lower Saxony Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in The North Germanic languages of Scandinavia are less closely related to English than the West Germanic languages. The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages

Many French words are also intelligible to an English speaker (though pronunciations are often quite different) because English absorbed a large vocabulary from Norman and French, via Anglo-Norman after the Norman conquest and directly from French in subsequent centuries. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. The northern Norman can be classified in the septentrional Oil languages with Picard and The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066, although As a result, a large portion of English vocabulary is derived from French, with some minor spelling differences (word endings, use of old French spellings, etc. ), as well as occasional divergences in meaning, in so-called "faux amis", or false friends. False friends (or faux amis) are pairs of Words in two Languages or Dialects (or letters in two alphabets that look and/or sound similar but differ The pronunciation of French loanwords in English has become completely anglicized and follows a typically Germanic pattern of stress. Native speakers of Romance languages, for example, who do not understand any Germanic languages, often still cannot distinguish between spoken English and Dutch.

Geographical distribution

See also: List of countries by English-speaking population

Approximately 375 million people speak English as their first language. This is a list of Countries of the world sorted by the total English -speaking population in that Country. ^[11] English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. ^[12][5] However, when combining native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world, though possibly second to a combination of the Chinese languages, depending on whether or not distinctions in the latter are classified as "languages" or "dialects. "^[6][13] Estimates that include second language speakers vary greatly from 470 million to over a billion depending on how literacy or mastery is defined. A second language (L2 is any Language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1 traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen, ^[14][15] There are some who claim that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1. ^[16]

The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: United States (215 million),^[17] United Kingdom (58 million),^[18] Canada (18. 2 million),^[19] Australia (15. 5 million),^[20] Ireland (3. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. 8 million),^[18] South Africa (3. 7 million),^[21] and New Zealand (3. 0-3. 7 million). ^[22] Countries such as Jamaica and Nigeria also have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from an English-based creole to a more standard version of English. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal A dialect continuum is a range of Dialects spoken across a large geographical area differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close and gradually decreasing An English-based creole language, or English creole for short is a Creole language that was significantly influenced by the English language. Of those nations where English is spoken as a second language, India has the most such speakers ('Indian English') and linguistics professor David Crystal claims that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world. Indian English comprises several Dialects or varieties of English spoken primarily in India, and by first-generation members of the Indian diaspora ^[23] Following India is the People's Republic of China. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ^[24]

Countries in order of total speakers

English is the primary language in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia (Australian English), the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Belize (Belizean Kriol), the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, Canada (Canadian English), the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey (Channel Island English), Guyana, Ireland (Hiberno-English), Isle of Man (Manx English), Jamaica (Jamaican English), Jersey, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand (New Zealand English), Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the United Kingdom, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the United States (various forms of American English). Anguilla (English pronunciation ang-GWILL-ah, æŋˈɡwɪlə is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, one of the most northerly of the Leeward Antigua and Barbuda ( Spanish for "Ancient" and "Bearded" is an Island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea Australian English ( AuE, AusE, en-AU) is the form of the English language used in Australia. The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an independent sovereign English -speaking country consisting of two thousand Cays and Barbados ( Portuguese word for bearded-ones, bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz -dɒs situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Island nation Ba (officially The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Belize (bəˈliːz formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Belizean Creole, known as Kriol by its speakers is a Creole language closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Limón Coastal Creole, The British Virgin Islands ( BVI) is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. Canadian English ( CanE, en-CA) is the variety of English used in Canada. The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Grenada (grɪˈneɪdə is an Island nation that includes the southern Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Guam ( Chamorro: cha Guåhån) officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated The Bailiwick of Guernsey (Bailliage de Guernesey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. Channel Island English refers to Guernsey English Jersey English and similar dialects of English found in the other Channel Islands Guyana (ɡaɪˈænə or /ɡiːˈɑːnə/ officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is the only Nation state Hiberno-English also known as Anglo-Irish and Irish English is English as spoken in Ireland, partly the result of the interaction of the English The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical Manx English, or Anglo-Manx, is the Dialect of English which was formerly spoken by the people of the Isle of Man. Jamaican English or Jamaican Standard English is a Dialect of English spoken in Jamaica. The Bailiwick of Jersey ( Jèrriais: Jèrri) is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. Montserrat (ˌmɒntsəˈræt is British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, is an Island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. New Zealand English ( NZE, en-NZ) is the form of the English language used in New Zealand. Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis) located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles chain of the Caribbean Sea. Singapore South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ( SGSSI) is a British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ˈtrɪnɪdæd ən təˈbeɪgoʊ is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American The Turks and Caicos Islands ( TCI) (ˈtɜːks ænd ˈkeɪkəs are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies The United States Virgin Islands is a group of Islands in the Caribbean that are an Insular area of the United States. Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology.

In many other countries, where English is not the most spoken language, it is an official language; these countries include Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Ghana, Gambia, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. The Commonwealth of Dominica, commonly known as Dominica, is an Island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य The Federated States of Micronesia is an Island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Kiribati or ( kirr-i-bas or KEE-ree-buhss ˈkiɾibas in Gilbertese) officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an Island nation located in Lesotho (lɪˈsuːtuː) officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a Landlocked country and Enclave — entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI is a Micronesian nation of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Palau, officially the Republic of Palau (Beluu er a Belau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800  km) east Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands Saint Lucia (ˌseɪnt ˈluːʃɪə is an Island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island The Kingdom of Swaziland is a country located in Southern Africa centred at approximately 26o49'S 31o38'E Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election It is also one of the 11 official languages that are given equal status in South Africa (South African English). South African English ( SAE, en-ZA) is a Dialect of English spoken in South Africa and in neighbouring countries with a large number English is also the official language in current dependent territories of Australia (Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Cocos Island) and of the United States (Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Puerto Rico),^[29] and in the former British colony of Hong Kong. A dependent territory dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political Independence or Sovereignty as a Norfolk Island ( Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand The Territory of Christmas Island is a small territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean, 2600 kilometres (1600 mi northwest of Cocos Island (Isla del Coco is an Island located off the shore of Costa Rica. The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI is a commonwealth in Political union with the United American Samoa (Amerika Sāmoa or sm ''Sāmoa Amelika'' is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders

English is an important language in several former colonies and protectorates of the United Kingdom but falls short of official status, such as in Malaysia, Brunei, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Brunei Darussalam, (bruːˈnaɪ in English officially the State of Brunei Abode of Peace (Negara Brunei Darussalam Jawi: برني دارالسلام The Kingdom of Bahrain (in مملكة البحرين,, literally Kingdom of the Two Seas) is an Island country in the Persian Gulf English is also not an official language in either the United States or the United Kingdom. ^[30][31] Although the United States federal government has no official languages, English has been given official status by 30 of the 50 state governments. ^[32]

English as a global language

See also: English in computing, International English, and World language

Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era. English is the Lingua franca in computing and on the Internet, and the computing vocabulary of many languages is borrowed from English International English is the concept of the English language as a global means of communication in numerous dialects and also the movement towards an international standard A world language is a language spoken internationally which is learned by many people as a Second language. A world language is a language spoken internationally which is learned by many people as a Second language. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely ^[8] While English is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a second language around the world. A second language (L2 is any Language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1 Some linguists believe that it is no longer the exclusive cultural sign of "native English speakers", but is rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it continues to grow. It is, by international treaty, the official language for aerial and maritime communications. English is an official language of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security

English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of schoolchildren), followed by French (32%), German (18%), and Spanish (8%). ^[33] In the EU, a large fraction of the population reports being able to converse to some extent in English. Among non-English speaking countries, a large percentage of the population claimed to be able to converse in English in the Netherlands (87%), Sweden (85%), Denmark (83%), Luxembourg (66%), Finland (60%), Slovenia (56%), Austria (53%), Belgium (52%), and Germany (51%). The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. ^[34] Norway and Iceland also have a large majority of competent English-speakers. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland (

Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world. A Book is a set or collection of written printed illustrated or blank sheets made of Paper, Parchment, or other material usually fastened together Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. English is also the most commonly used language in the sciences. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding ^[8] In 1997, the Science Citation Index reported that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries. Science Citation Index ( SCI) is a Citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI in 1960 which is now owned by

Dialects and regional varieties

Main article: List of dialects of the English language

The expansion of the British Empire and—since WWII—the primacy of the United States have spread English throughout the globe. This is a list of varieties of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in Pronunciation, Vocabulary and ^[8] Because of that global spread, English has developed a host of English dialects and English-based creole languages and pidgins. This is a list of varieties of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in Pronunciation, Vocabulary and A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable Language that originates seemingly as a nativized Pidgin. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade

The major varieties of English include, in most cases, several subvarieties, such as Cockney within British English; Newfoundland English within Canadian English; and African American Vernacular English ("Ebonics") and Southern American English within American English. The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations British English or UK English ( BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the Newfoundland English is a name for several Dialects of English found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, often regarded as the most distinctive Canadian English ( CanE, en-CA) is the variety of English used in Canada. African American Vernacular English ( AAVE) – also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Southern American English is a group of Dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology. English is a pluricentric language, without a central language authority like France's Académie française; and, although no variety is clearly considered the only standard, there are a number of accents considered to be more prestigious, such as Received Pronunciation in Britain. A pluricentric language is a Language with several standard versions both in spoken and in written forms. L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. Received Pronunciation ( RP) is a form of Pronunciation of the English language (specifically British English) which has long been perceived as

Scots developed—largely independently—from the same origins, but following the Acts of Union 1707 a process of language attrition began, whereby successive generations adopted more and more features from English causing dialectalisation. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland to put into Language attrition is the loss of a first or second Language or a portion of that language by individuals it should be distinguished from language loss within a community (the Whether it is now a separate language or a dialect of English better described as Scottish English is in dispute. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of Scottish English is the variety of English spoken in Scotland, also called Scottish Standard English. The pronunciation, grammar and lexis of the traditional forms differ, sometimes substantially, from other varieties of English.

Because of the wide use of English as a second language, English speakers have many different accents, which often signal the speaker's native dialect or language. In Linguistics, an accent is a manner of Pronunciation of a language For the more distinctive characteristics of regional accents, see Regional accents of English, and for the more distinctive characteristics of regional dialects, see List of dialects of the English language. The regional accents of English speakers show great variation across the areas where English is spoken as a first language This is a list of varieties of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in Pronunciation, Vocabulary and

Just as English itself has borrowed words from many different languages over its history, English loanwords now appear in a great many languages around the world, indicative of the technological and cultural influence of its speakers. A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one Language from another with little or no translation Several pidgins and creole languages have formed using an English base, such as Jamaican Patois, Nigerian Pidgin, and Tok Pisin. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable Language that originates seemingly as a nativized Pidgin. Nigerian Pidgin is an English -based pidgin or creole language spoken as a kind of Lingua franca across Nigeria that is referred to simply Tok Pisin ( tok means "word" or "speech" as in "talk" pisin means " Pidgin " is a creole spoken throughout There are many words in English coined to describe forms of particular non-English languages that contain a very high proportion of English words. Franglais, for example, is used to describe French with a very high English word content; it is found on the Channel Islands. Franglais, or Frenglish, a Portmanteau combining the French words " français " (" French " and " anglais " The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands Another variant, spoken in the border bilingual regions of Québec in Canada, is called Frenglish. Franglais, or Frenglish, a Portmanteau combining the French words " français " (" French " and " anglais " In Wales, which is part of the United Kingdom, the languages of Welsh and English are sometimes mixed together by fluent or comfortable Welsh speakers, the result of which is called Wenglish. Welsh English, Anglo-Welsh, or Wenglish (see below refers to the Dialects of English spoken in Wales by Welsh people.

Constructed varieties of English

• Basic English is simplified for easy international use. Basic English is an attempted core Subset of The English language created by Charles Kay Ogden and described in his book Basic English A General Introduction It is used by manufacturers and other international businesses to write manuals and communicate. Some English schools in Asia teach it as a practical subset of English for use by beginners.
• Special English is a simplified version of English used by the Voice of America. Special English is a simplified version of the English language first used on October 19, 1959 and presently employed by the United States Voice of America ( VOA) is the official external radio and Television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. It uses a vocabulary of only 1500 words.
• English reform is an attempt to improve collectively upon the English language. English spelling reform is the collective term for various campaigns and efforts to change the Spelling of the English language to make it simpler and more rationally
• Seaspeak and the related Airspeak and Policespeak, all based on restricted vocabularies, were designed by Edward Johnson in the 1980s to aid international cooperation and communication in specific areas. Seaspeak is a simplified language designed to facilitate communication between ships whose captains' native tongues differ The NATO phonetic alphabet, more formally the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, is the most widely used Spelling alphabet. Edward Johnson may refer to Politicians Eddie Bernice Johnson, (born 1935 American politician Robert Edward Johnson (born There is also a tunnelspeak for use in the Channel Tunnel. Tunnelspeak is a constructed language used by workers in the Channel Tunnel, using a limited vocabulary of French and English for ease of communication The Channel Tunnel (Le tunnel sous la Manche also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in England with
• Euro-English is a concept of standardising English for use as a second language in continental Europe. Euro-English (also Euroenglish or Euro-Englisch) terms are English translations of European concepts that are not native to English-speaking countries
• Manually Coded English — a variety of systems have been developed to represent the English language with hand signals, designed primarily for use in deaf education. Manually Coded English (MCE is a general term used to describe a variety of visual communication methods expressed through the hands which attempt to represent the English language These should not be confused with true sign languages such as British Sign Language and American Sign Language used in Anglophone countries, which are independent and not based on English. British Sign Language ( BSL) is the Sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK and is the first or preferred language of Deaf people in the American Sign Language (or ASL Ameslan is the dominant Sign language of the Deaf community in the United States, in the English-speaking parts
• E-Prime excludes forms of the verb to be. E-Prime, short for English-Prime, is a modified English Syntax and vocabulary lacking all forms of the verb To be: be is am

Euro-English (also EuroEnglish or Euro-English) terms are English translations of European concepts that are not native to English-speaking countries. Because of the United Kingdom's (and even the Republic of Ireland's) involvement in the European Union, the usage focuses on non-British concepts. This kind of Euro-English was parodied when English was "made" one of the constituent languages of Europanto. Europanto is a linguistic jest presented as a " Constructed language " with a hodge-podge vocabulary from many European languages

Phonology

Main article: English phonology

Vowels

Notes:

It is the vowels that differ most from region to region. English phonology is the study of the Phonology (ie the sound system of the English language. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA is a system of phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet, devised by the International Phonetic A monophthong ( Greek μονόφθογγος "monophthongos" = single note) is a "pure" Vowel sound one whose articulation at The close front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents Near-close near-front unrounded vowel The near-close near-front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The The open-mid front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The open back rounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that The open-mid back rounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The open back unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The near-close near-back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for The close back rounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The open-mid back unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The near-open central vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that The open-mid central unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet In Linguistics, specifically Phonetics and Phonology, schwa can mean the following An unstressed and toneless neutral The close central unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents In Phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (from Greek grc δίφθογγος "diphthongos" literally "with two sounds" or "with Close-mid front unrounded vowel The close-mid front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the The close front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The close-mid back rounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The near-close near-back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for The open front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet Near-close near-front unrounded vowel The near-close near-front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The The open front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The near-close near-back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for The open-mid back rounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet The close front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The near-close near-back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for In Linguistics, specifically Phonetics and Phonology, schwa can mean the following An unstressed and toneless neutral The open-mid front unrounded vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet In Linguistics, specifically Phonetics and Phonology, schwa can mean the following An unstressed and toneless neutral In Phonetics, a vowel is a Sound in spoken Language, such as English ah! or oh!, pronounced with an open Vocal tract

Where symbols appear in pairs, the first corresponds to American English, General American accent; the second corresponds to British English, Received Pronunciation. General American is an accent of American English within American English General American and accents approximating it are contrasted with Southern American Received Pronunciation ( RP) is a form of Pronunciation of the English language (specifically British English) which has long been perceived as

1. American English lacks this sound; words with this sound are pronounced with /ɑ/ or /ɔ/. See Lot-cloth split. Father-bother merger The father-bother merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels /ɑː/ and /ɒ/ that occurs in almost all varieties of North American English
2. Some dialects of North American English do not have this vowel. See Cot-caught merger. Father-bother merger The father-bother merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels /ɑː/ and /ɒ/ that occurs in almost all varieties of North American English
3. The North American variation of this sound is a rhotic vowel. In Phonetics, vocalic r refers to the phenomenon of a Rhotic segment such as or occurring as the Syllable nucleus.
4. Many speakers of North American English do not distinguish between these two unstressed vowels. For them, roses and Rosa's are pronounced the same, and the symbol usually used is schwa /ə/. In Linguistics, specifically Phonetics and Phonology, schwa can mean the following An unstressed and toneless neutral
5. This sound is often transcribed with /i/ or with /ɪ/.
6. The diphthongs /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ are monophthongal for many General American speakers, as /eː/ and /oː/.
7. The letter <U> can represent either /u/ or the iotated vowel /ju/. Iotation is a form of Palatalization which occurs in Slavic languages. In BRP, if this iotated vowel /ju/ occurs after /t/, /d/, /s/ or /z/, it often triggers palatalization of the preceding consonant, turning it to /ʨ/, /ʥ/, /ɕ/ and /ʑ/ respectively, as in tune, during, sugar, and azure. In American English, palatalization does not generally happen unless the /ju/ is followed by r, with the result that /(t, d,s, z)jur/ turn to /tʃɚ/, /dʒɚ/, /ʃɚ/ and /ʒɚ/ respectively, as in nature, verdure, sure, and treasure.
8. Vowel length plays a phonetic role in the majority of English dialects, and is said to be phonemic in a few dialects, such as Australian English and New Zealand English. In Linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a Vowel sound Australian English ( AuE, AusE, en-AU) is the form of the English language used in Australia. New Zealand English ( NZE, en-NZ) is the form of the English language used in New Zealand. In certain dialects of the modern English language, for instance General American, there is allophonic vowel length: vowel phonemes are realized as long vowel allophones before voiced consonant phonemes in the coda of a syllable. General American is an accent of American English within American English General American and accents approximating it are contrasted with Southern American Before the Great Vowel Shift, vowel length was phonemically contrastive. The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the Pronunciation of the English language that took place in the south of England between 1200 and
9. This sound only occurs in non-rhotic accents. In some accents, this sound may be, instead of /ʊə/, /ɔ:/. See English-language vowel changes before historic r. The English language has undergone a number of phonological changes before the historic phoneme /r/.
10. This sound only occurs in non-rhotic accents. In some accents, the schwa offglide of /ɛə/ may be dropped, monophthising and lengthening the sound to /ɛ:/.

See also

• IPA chart for English for more vowel charts. This concise chart shows the most common applications of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA to represent English language pronunciations

Consonants

This is the English consonantal system using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA is a system of phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet, devised by the International Phonetic

1. The velar nasal [ŋ] is a non-phonemic allophone of /n/ in some northerly British accents, appearing only before /k/ and /g/. In Phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a Consonant articulated with both Lips The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet In Phonetics, labiodentals are Consonants articulated with the lower Lip and the upper Teeth. Interdental consonants are produced by placing the blade of the Tongue against the upper Incisors This differs from a Dental consonant in that the Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Postalveolar consonants are Consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the Alveolar ridge, placing them a bit further back in the Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth Labial-velar consonants are doubly articulated at the velum and the Lips They are sometimes called " Labiovelar consonants quot a term which can also Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together In Phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of Consonantal sound which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (such as the Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants Laterals are "L"-like Consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both The velar nasal is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents In all other dialects it is a separate phoneme, although it only occurs in syllable codas. In Phonology, a syllable coda comprises the Consonant sounds of a Syllable that follow the nucleus, which is usually a Vowel
2. The alveolar tap [ɾ] is an allophone of /t/ and /d/ in unstressed syllables in North American English and Australian English. The alveolar tap or flap is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that North American English is a collective term used for the varieties of the English language that are spoken in North America, namely in the United States Australian English ( AuE, AusE, en-AU) is the form of the English language used in Australia. ^[35] This is the sound of tt or dd in the words latter and ladder, which are homophones for many speakers of North American English. In some accents such as Scottish English and Indian English it replaces /ɹ/. Scottish English is the variety of English spoken in Scotland, also called Scottish Standard English. Indian English comprises several Dialects or varieties of English spoken primarily in India, and by first-generation members of the Indian diaspora This is the same sound represented by single r in most varieties of Spanish.
3. In some dialects, such as Cockney, the interdentals /θ/ and /ð/ are usually merged with /f/ and /v/, and in others, like African American Vernacular English, /ð/ is merged with dental /d/. The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations African American Vernacular English ( AAVE) – also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, In some Irish varieties, /θ/ and /ð/ become the corresponding dental plosives, which then contrast with the usual alveolar plosives.
4. The sounds /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and /ɹ/ are labialised in some dialects. Labialisation is never contrastive in initial position and therefore is sometimes not transcribed. Most speakers of General American realize <r> (always rhoticized) as the retroflex approximant /ɻ/, whereas the same is realized in Scottish English, etc. General American is an accent of American English within American English General American and accents approximating it are contrasted with Southern American The retroflex approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that Scottish English is the variety of English spoken in Scotland, also called Scottish Standard English. as the alveolar trill. The alveolar trill is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental
5. The voiceless palatal fricative /ç/ is in most accents just an allophone of /h/ before /j/; for instance human /çjuːmən/. The voiceless palatal fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet In Phonetics, an allophone is one of several similar speech sounds ( Phones that belong to the same Phoneme. However, in some accents (see this), the /j/ is dropped, but the initial consonant is the same. The phonological history of English consonant clusters is part of the Phonological history of the English language in terms of changes in the Phonology of Consonant
6. The voiceless velar fricative /x/ is used by Scottish or Welsh speakers of English for Scots/Gaelic words such as loch /lɒx/ or by some speakers for loanwords from German and Hebrew like Bach /bax/ or Chanukah /xanuka/. The voiceless velar fricative, informally known as the hard ch, is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the /x/ is also used in South African English. In some dialects such as Scouse (Liverpool) either [x] or the affricate [kx] may be used as an allophone of /k/ in words such as docker [dɒkxə]. Scouse (ˈskaʊs is the accent and Dialect of English found in the city of Liverpool, and in some adjoining urban areas of Merseyside Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into In Phonetics, an allophone is one of several similar speech sounds ( Phones that belong to the same Phoneme. Most native speakers have a great deal of trouble pronouncing it correctly when learning a foreign language. Most speakers use the sounds [k] and [h] instead.
7. Voiceless w [ʍ] is found in Scottish and Irish English, as well as in some varieties of American, New Zealand, and English English. In most other dialects it is merged with /w/, in some dialects of Scots it is merged with /f/.

Voicing and aspiration

Voicing and aspiration of stop consonants in English depend on dialect and context, but a few general rules can be given:

• Voiceless plosives and affricates (/ p/, / t/, / k/, and / tʃ/) are aspirated when they are word-initial or begin a stressed syllable — compare pin [pʰɪn] and spin [spɪn], crap [kʰɹ̥æp] and scrap [skɹæp]. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into
  • In some dialects, aspiration extends to unstressed syllables as well.
  • In other dialects, such as Indian English, all voiceless stops remain unaspirated. Indian English comprises several Dialects or varieties of English spoken primarily in India, and by first-generation members of the Indian diaspora
• Word-initial voiced plosives may be devoiced in some dialects.
• Word-terminal voiceless plosives may be unreleased or accompanied by a glottal stop in some dialects (e. g. many varieties of American English) — examples: tap [tʰæp̚], sack [sæk̚]. Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology.
• Word-terminal voiced plosives may be devoiced in some dialects (e. g. some varieties of American English) — examples: sad [sæd̥], bag [bæɡ̊]. Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology. In other dialects they are fully voiced in final position, but only partially voiced in initial position.

Supra-segmental features

Tone groups

English is an intonation language. In Linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch whilst speaking which is not used to distinguish words This means that the pitch of the voice is used syntactically, for example, to convey surprise and irony, or to change a statement into a question. Pitch represents the perceived Fundamental frequency of a sound In Linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek grc συν- syn-, "together" and grc τάξις táxis, "arrangement" is the Surprise is a brief emotional state that is the result of experiencing an unexpected relevant event Irony is a literary or Rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or Discordance between what one says or does and what one means or In Linguistics, a sentence is a grammatical unit of one or more words bearing minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it often preceded and followed A question may be either a linguistic expression used to make a request for Information, or else the request itself made by such an expression

In English, intonation patterns are on groups of words, which are called tone groups, tone units, intonation groups or sense groups. Tone groups are said on a single breath and, as a consequence, are of limited length, more often being on average five words long or lasting roughly two seconds. For example:

- /duː juː niːd ˈɛnɪˌθɪŋ/ Do you need anything?

- /aɪ dəʊnt | nəʊ/ I don't, no

- /aɪ dəʊnt nəʊ/ I don't know (contracted to, for example, - /aɪ dəʊnəʊ/ or /aɪ dənəʊ/ I dunno in fast or colloquial speech that de-emphasises the pause between don't and know even further)

Characteristics of intonation

English is a strongly stressed language, in that certain syllables, both within words and within phrases, get a relative prominence/loudness during pronunciation while the others do not. The former kind of syllables are said to be accentuated/stressed and the latter are unaccentuated/unstressed. All good dictionaries of English mark the accentuated syllable(s) by either placing an apostrophe-like ( ˈ ) sign either before (as in IPA, Oxford English Dictionary, or Merriam-Webster dictionaries) or after (as in many other dictionaries) the syllable where the stress accent falls. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA is a system of phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet, devised by the International Phonetic The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English Merriam-Webster, which was originally the G & C Merriam Company of Springfield Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books

Hence in a sentence, each tone group can be subdivided into syllables, which can either be stressed (strong) or unstressed (weak). The stressed syllable is called the nuclear syllable. For example:

That | was | the | best | thing | you | could | have | done!

Here, all syllables are unstressed, except the syllables/words best and done, which are stressed. Best is stressed harder and, therefore, is the nuclear syllable.

The nuclear syllable carries the main point the speaker wishes to make. For example:

John had not stolen that money. (. . . Someone else had. )

John had not stolen that money. (. . . You said he had. or . . . Not at that time, but later he did. )

John had not stolen that money. (. . . He acquired the money by some other means. )

John had not stolen that money. (. . . He had stolen some other money. )

John had not stolen that money. (. . . He stole something else. )

Also

I did not tell her that. (. . . Someone else told her)

I did not tell her that. (. . . You said I did. or . . . but now I will)

I did not tell her that. (. . . I did not say it; she could have inferred it, etc)

I did not tell her that. (. . . I told someone else)

I did not tell her that. (. . . I told her something else)

This can also be used to express emotion:

Oh really? (. . . I did not know that)

Oh really? (. . . I disbelieve you. or . . . That's blatantly obvious)

The nuclear syllable is spoken more loudly than the others and has a characteristic change of pitch. The changes of pitch most commonly encountered in English are the rising pitch and the falling pitch, although the fall-rising pitch and/or the rise-falling pitch are sometimes used. In this opposition between falling and rising pitch, which plays a larger role in English than in most other languages, falling pitch conveys certainty and rising pitch uncertainty. This can have a crucial impact on meaning, specifically in relation to polarity, the positive–negative opposition; thus, falling pitch means "polarity known", while rising pitch means "polarity unknown". This underlies the rising pitch of yes/no questions. For example:

When do you want to be paid?

Now? (Rising pitch. In this case, it denotes a question: "Can I be paid now?" or "Do you desire to pay now?")

Now. (Falling pitch. In this case, it denotes a statement: "I choose to be paid now. ")

Grammar

Main article: English grammar

English grammar has minimal inflection compared with most other Indo-European languages. English grammar is a body of rules ( Grammar) specifying how phrases and sentences are constructed in the English language. In Grammar, inflection or inflexion is the way language handles grammatical relations and relational categories such as tense, mood, voice For example, Modern English, unlike Modern German or Dutch and the Romance languages, lacks grammatical gender and adjectival agreement. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all In Linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called Noun classes are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words every noun must belong In Languages agreement is a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase Case marking has almost disappeared from the language and mainly survives in pronouns. In Grammar, the case of a Noun or Pronoun indicates its Grammatical function in a greater Phrase or Clause; such as the In Linguistics and Grammar, a pronoun is a Pro-form that substitutes for a (including a noun phrase consisting of a single Noun) with or The patterning of strong (e. A strong Inflection is a system of Verb conjugation or noun/adjective Declension which can be contrasted with an alternative system in the same language g. speak/spoke/spoken) versus weak verbs inherited from its Germanic origins has declined in importance in modern English, and the remnants of inflection (such as plural marking) have become more regular. In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs which are therefore often regarded as the norm though historically they Plural is a Grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the Referent in the real world

At the same time, the language has become more analytic, and has developed features such as modal verbs and word order as resources for conveying meaning. In morphological typology (in linguistics an isolating language (also analytic language) is any Language in which words are composed of A modal verb (also modal, modal auxiliary verb, modal auxiliary) is a type of Auxiliary verb that is used to indicate modality. In Linguistics, word order typology refers to the study of the different ways in which languages arrange the constituents of their sentences relative to each other and the systematic Auxiliary verbs mark constructions such as questions, negative polarity, the passive voice and progressive aspect. In Linguistics, an auxiliary (also called helping verb, helper verb, auxiliary verb, or verbal auxiliary) is a Verb functioning In Grammar, the voice (also called gender or diathesis of a verb describes the relationship between the action (or state that the verb expresses and the participants identified In Linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a Verb defines the temporal flow (or lack thereof in the described event or state

Vocabulary

The English vocabulary has changed considerably over the centuries. ^[36]

Like many languages deriving from Proto-Indo-European (PIE), many of the most common words in English can trace back their origin (through Germanic) to PIE. Such words include the basic pronouns I, originally ic, (cf. Latin ego, Greek ego, Sanskrit aham), me (cf. Latin me, Greek eme, Sanskrit mam), numbers (e. g. one, two, three, cf. Latin unus, duo, tres, Greek oinos "ace (on dice)", duo, treis), common family relationships such as mother, father, brother, sister etc (cf. Greek "meter", Latin "mater", Sanskrit "matṛ"; mother), names of many animals (cf. Sankrit mus, Greek mys, Latin mus; mouse), and many common verbs (cf. Greek gignōmi, Latin gnoscere, Hittite kanes; to know).

Germanic words (generally words of Old English or to a lesser extent Norse origin) tend to be shorter than the Latinate words of English, and more common in ordinary speech. This includes nearly all the basic pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, modal verbs etc. that form the basis of English syntax and grammar. The longer Latinate words are often regarded as more elegant or educated. However, the excessive use of Latinate words is considered at times to be either pretentious or an attempt to obfuscate an issue. Obfuscation is the concealment of meaning in Communication, making it Confusing and harder to Interpret. George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" is critical of this, as well as other perceived abuses of the language. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer An essay is usually a short piece of writing It is often written from an author's personal point of view. Politics and the English Language (1946 by George Orwell, is an essay criticizing "ugly and inaccurate" contemporary Written English.

An English speaker is in many cases able to choose between Germanic and Latinate synonyms: come or arrive; sight or vision; freedom or liberty. This article deals with the general meaning of the term "synonym" In some cases there is a choice between a Germanic derived word (oversee), a Latin derived word (supervise), and a French word derived from the same Latin word (survey). Such synonyms harbor a variety of different meanings and nuances, enabling the speaker to express fine variations or shades of thought. Familiarity with the etymology of groups of synonyms can give English speakers greater control over their linguistic register. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time In Linguistics, a register is a subset of a Language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting See: List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English. This list contains Germanic elements of the English language which have a close corresponding Latinate form

An exception to this and a peculiarity perhaps unique to English is that the nouns for meats are commonly different from, and unrelated to, those for the animals from which they are produced, the animal commonly having a Germanic name and the meat having a French-derived one. Examples include: deer and venison; cow and beef; swine/pig and pork, or sheep and mutton. A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Venison is the Culinary name for Meat from the family Cervidae. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family Beef is the Culinary name for Meat from Bovines especially domestic Cattle (cows Pigs, also called hogs or' swine', are Ungulates which have been domesticated as sources of food leather and similar products since ancient times Pork' is the Culinary name for Meat from the domestic Pig ( Sus scrofa) often specifically the fresh meat but can be used as an all-inclusive Lamb, hogget, and mutton are the meat of Domestic sheep. The meat of an animal in its first year is lamb; that of an older sheep is hogget This is assumed to be a result of the aftermath of the Norman invasion, where a French-speaking elite were the consumers of the meat, produced by Anglo-Saxon lower classes.

Since the majority of words used in informal settings will normally be Germanic, such words are often the preferred choices when a speaker wishes to make a point in an argument in a very direct way. A majority of Latinate words (or at least a majority of content words) will normally be used in more formal speech and writing, such as a courtroom or an encyclopedia article. A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its An encyclopedia (or '''encyclopædia''') is a comprehensive written Compendium that contains Information on either all branches of Knowledge However, there are other Latinate words that are used normally in everyday speech and do not sound formal; these are mainly words for concepts that no longer have Germanic words, and are generally assimilated better and in many cases do not appear Latinate. For instance, the words mountain, valley, river, aunt, uncle, move, use, push and stay are all Latinate.

English easily accepts technical terms into common usage and often imports new words and phrases. Examples of this phenomenon include: cookie, Internet and URL (technical terms), as well as genre, über, lingua franca and amigo (imported words/phrases from French, German, modern Latin, and Spanish, respectively). HTTP cookies, or more commonly referred to as Web cookies tracking cookies or just cookies are parcels of text sent by a server to a Web client (usually The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks Uniform Resource Locator is an URI which also specifies where the identified resource is available and the protocol for retrieving it A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set Über or ueber ( comes from the German language. It is a Cognate of both Latin super and Greek ὑπέρ ( hyper) as well as A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely In addition, slang often provides new meanings for old words and phrases. Slang is the use of highly informal Words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's Dialect or Language. In fact, this fluidity is so pronounced that a distinction often needs to be made between formal forms of English and contemporary usage.

See also: sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of Society, including cultural norms expectations and context on the way Language is used

Number of words in English

The General Explanations at the beginning of the Oxford English Dictionary states:

The vocabulary of English is undoubtedly vast, but assigning a specific number to its size is more a matter of definition than of calculation. Unlike other languages, such as French, German, Spanish and Italian there is no Academy to define officially accepted words and spellings. L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. This is a list of bodies that regulate Standard languages Natural languages Auxiliary languages Interlingua The auxiliary language The Real Academia Española (“Royal Spanish Academy” the RAE, is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language The Accademia della Crusca is an Italian institution that brings together scholars and experts in Italian linguistics and Philology. This is a list of bodies that regulate Standard languages Natural languages Auxiliary languages Interlingua The auxiliary language Neologisms are coined regularly in medicine, science and technology and other fields, and new slang is constantly developed. A neologism (from Greek neo = "new" + logos = "word" is a word that although devised relatively recently in a specific time period has been Slang is the use of highly informal Words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's Dialect or Language. Some of these new words enter wide usage; others remain restricted to small circles. Foreign words used in immigrant communities often make their way into wider English usage. Archaic, dialectal, and regional words might or might not be widely considered as "English".

The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (OED2) includes over 600,000 definitions, following a rather inclusive policy:

The editors of Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (475,000 main headwords) in their preface, estimate the number to be much higher. Webster's Dictionary is the name given to a common type of English language dictionary in the United States. It is estimated that about 25,000 words are added to the language each year. ^[38]

Word origins

Main article: Lists of English words of international origin

One of the consequences of the French influence is that the vocabulary of English is, to a certain extent, divided between those words which are Germanic (mostly West Germanic, with a smaller influence from the North Germanic branch) and those which are "Latinate" (Latin-derived, either directly or from Norman French or other Romance languages). The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family.

Numerous sets of statistics have been proposed to demonstrate the origins of English vocabulary. None, as yet, is considered definitive by most linguists.

A computerised survey of about 80,000 words in the old Shorter Oxford Dictionary (3rd ed. ) was published in Ordered Profusion by Thomas Finkenstaedt and Dieter Wolff (1973)^[39] that estimated the origin of English words as follows:

Influences in English vocabulary

• Langue d'oïl, including French and Old Norman: 28.3%
• Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28. Langues d'oïl is the linguistic and historical designation of the Gallo-Romance languages originating from the northern territories of Roman Gaul, Old Norman was one of many Langue d'oïl dialects It was spoken throughout the region of what is now called Normandy and spread into England Southern Great number of words of French origin have entered the English language to the extent that around 30% of its vocabulary is of French origin 24%
• Other Germanic languages (including words directly inherited from Old English): 25%
• Greek: 5. The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. 32%
• No etymology given: 4. 03%
• Derived from proper names: 3. 28%
• All other languages contributed less than 1%

A survey by Joseph M. Williams in Origins of the English Language of 10,000 words taken from several thousand business letters gave this set of statistics:^[40]

• French (langue d'oïl): 41%
• "Native" English: 33%
• Latin: 15%
• Danish: 2%
• Dutch: 1%
• Other: 10%

However, 83% of the 1,000 most-common, and all of the 100 most-common English words are Germanic. Joseph M Williams ( 18 August 1933, Cleveland, Ohio, - 22 February 2008, South Haven, Michigan) was ^[41]

Dutch origins

Main article: List of English words of Dutch origin

Words describing the navy, types of ships, and other objects or activities on the water are often from Dutch origin. This is a list of words of Dutch language origin However note that this list does also include some words of which the etymology is uncertain and that some may have been derived from Yacht (jacht) and cruiser (kruiser) are examples.

French origins

Main article: List of French words and phrases used by English speakers

There are many words of French origin in English, such as competition, art, table, publicity, police, role, routine, machine, force, and many others that have been and are being anglicised; they are now pronounced according to English rules of phonology, rather than French. Here are some examples of French words and phrases used by English speakers. Great number of words of French origin have entered the English language to the extent that around 30% of its vocabulary is of French origin Anglicisation or anglicization (see -ise vs -ize) is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning A large portion of English vocabulary is of French or Langues d'oïl origin, most derived from, or transmitted via, the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England. Langues d'oïl is the linguistic and historical designation of the Gallo-Romance languages originating from the northern territories of Roman Gaul, The Anglo-Norman language is a term traditionally used to refer to the variety of French used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles following the Is a concept in Sociology that refers to the group of people at the top of a Social hierarchy. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

Writing system

Main articles: English alphabet and English orthography

English has been written using the Latin alphabet since around the ninth century. The modern English alphabet consists of 26 letters derived from the Latin alphabet: History See also History of the English orthography is the alphabetic spelling system used by the English language. (Before that, Old English had been written using the Anglo-Saxon futhorc. Futhorc, a Runic alphabet used by the Anglo-Saxons, was descended from the Elder Futhark of 24 runes and contained between 26 and 33 characters ) The spelling system, or orthography, is multilayered, with elements of French, Latin and Greek spelling on top of the native Germanic system; it has grown to vary significantly from the phonology of the language. The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning The spelling of words often diverges considerably from how they are spoken.

Though letters and sounds may not correspond in isolation, spelling rules that take into account syllable structure, phonetics, and accents are 75% or more reliable. ^[42] Some phonics spelling advocates claim that English is more than 80% phonetic. ^[43]

In general, the English language, being the product of many other languages and having only been codified orthographically in the 16th century, has fewer consistent relationships between sounds and letters than many other languages. English is a West Germanic language which originated from the Anglo-Frisian Dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers The consequence of this orthographic history is that reading can be challenging. ^[44] It takes longer for students to become completely fluent readers of English than of many other languages, including French, Greek, and Spanish. ^[45]

Basic sound-letter correspondence

See also: Hard and soft C and Hard and soft G

Only the consonant letters are pronounced in a relatively regular way:

Written accents

Main article: English words with diacritics

Unlike most other Germanic languages, English has almost no diacritics except in foreign loanwords (like the acute accent in café), and in the uncommon use of a diaeresis mark (often in formal writing) to indicate that two vowels are pronounced separately, rather than as one sound (e. The voiced palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol The voiceless velar fricative, informally known as the hard ch, is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the Scottish English is the variety of English spoken in Scotland, also called Scottish Standard English. Welsh English, Anglo-Welsh, or Wenglish (see below refers to the Dialects of English spoken in Wales by Welsh people. The voiceless glottal transition, commonly called a " fricative " is a type of sound used in some spoken Languages which often behaves like a The voiceless palato-alveolar affricate or domed postalveolar affricate is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages It is The phonological history of English consonant clusters is part of the Phonological history of the English language in terms of changes in the Phonology of Consonant The voiced palato-alveolar affricate, also described as voiced domed postalveolar affricate, is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The alveolar approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The palatal approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in many spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The alveolar lateral approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents The voiced labiovelar (actually labialized velar) approximant is a type of Consonantal sound used in certain spoken Languages including The voiceless labiovelar approximant (traditionally called a voiceless labiovelar fricative) is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages Some English language Words have letters with Diacritical marks A diacritic ( also called a diacritic or diacritical mark, point, or sign, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one Language from another with little or no translation History An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels. In Linguistics, diaeresis, or dieresis, is the pronunciation of two adjacent Vowels in two separate Syllables rather than as a Diphthong g. naïve, Zoë). In most cases it is acceptable to leave out the marks, especially in digital communications where the QWERTY keyboard lacks any marked letters. QWERTY (ˈkwɜː(rti is the most common modern-day Keyboard layout on English-language computer and Typewriter keyboards It takes its

Some English words use the diacritic to distinguish them from others, such as animé, exposé, lamé, öre, øre, pâté, piqué, and rosé, although it is not necessarily required (résumé/resumé is often spelled resume in the United States). Animé or Zanzibar Copal is an oleo-resin (named after its insect-infested natural state which is discharged from the Jatobá tree LAME is an Open source application used to encode audio into the MP3 file format Öre is the one-hundredth subdivision of the Swedish krona Currency unit Øre is the one-hundredth subdivision of the Norwegian krone, Danish krone, Swedish krona and Icelandic króna Currency units Pâté (French pronunciation; RP pronunciation; General American pronunciation) Piqué refers to a Weaving style as in “piqué Cotton,” which is characterized by raised parallel cords or fine ribbing (for example in the collar of a A rosé (From French rosé ‘pinkish’ Wine has some of the color typical of a red wine but only enough to turn it pink There are even loan words which adopted an accent to represent their pronunciation in English, such as maté, from Spanish yerba mate.

Formal written English

Main article: Formal written English

A version of the language almost universally agreed upon by educated English speakers around the world is called formal written English. Formal written English is a version of the language that is used by educated English speakers around the world Formal written English is a version of the language that is used by educated English speakers around the world It takes virtually the same form no matter where in the English-speaking world it is written. In spoken English, by contrast, there are a vast number of differences between dialects, accents, and varieties of slang, colloquial and regional expressions. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of In Linguistics, an accent is a manner of Pronunciation of a language Slang is the use of highly informal Words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's Dialect or Language. In spite of this, local variations in the formal written version of the language are quite limited, being restricted largely to the spelling differences between British and American English. American and British English spelling differences are one aspect of American and British English differences.

Basic and simplified versions

To make English easier to read, there are some simplified versions of the language. One basic version is named Basic English, a constructed language with a small number of words created by Charles Kay Ogden and described in his book Basic English: A General Introduction with Rules and Grammar (1930). Basic English is an attempted core Subset of The English language created by Charles Kay Ogden and described in his book Basic English A General Introduction A constructed or artificial language known colloquially or informally as a conlang is a Language whose Phonology, Grammar For the children's book writer see Charles Ogden (children's writer. The language is based on a simplified version of English. Ogden said that it would take seven years to learn English, seven months for Esperanto, and seven weeks for Basic English, comparable with Ido. is by far the most widely spoken constructed International auxiliary language in the world Ido (ˈiːdoʊ is a Constructed language created with the goal of becoming a universal second language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds as a language easier Thus Basic English is used by companies who need to make complex books for international use, and by language schools that need to give people some knowledge of English in a short time.

Ogden did not put any words into Basic English that could be said with a few other words and he worked to make the words work for speakers of any other language. He put his set of words through a large number of tests and adjustments. He also made the grammar simpler, but tried to keep the grammar normal for English users.

The concept gained its greatest publicity just after the Second World War as a tool for world peace. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Although it was not built into a program, similar simplifications were devised for various international uses.

Another version, Simplified English, exists, which is a controlled language originally developed for aerospace industry maintenance manuals. Simplified English is a controlled language originally developed for Aerospace industry maintenance manuals Controlled natural languages (CNLs are subsets of natural languages obtained byrestricting the grammar and vocabulary in orderto reduce or eliminate Ambiguity and complexity This article is about the field of research and industry for the corporation see The Aerospace Corporation Aerospace comprises the It offers a carefully limited and standardised subset of English. Simplified English has a lexicon of approved words and those words can only be used in certain ways. For example, the word close can be used in the phrase "Close the door" but not "do not go close to the landing gear".

Notes

References

• Baugh, Albert C. ; Thomas Cable (2002). A history of the English language, 5th ed. , Routledge. ISBN 0-415-28099-0.  
• Bragg, Melvyn (2004). Melvyn Baron Bragg, FRSL, FRTS (born 6 October 1939) is a British author and broadcaster The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 1-55970-710-0.  
• Crystal, David (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-53032-6.  
• Crystal, David (2004). The Stories of English. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9752-4.  
• Crystal, David (2003). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language, 2nd ed. , Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-53033-4.  
• Halliday, MAK (1994). An introduction to functional grammar, 2nd ed. , London: Edward Arnold. ISBN 0-340-55782-6.  
• Hayford, Harrison; Howard P. Vincent (1954). Reader and Writer. Houghton Mifflin Company.   [1]
• McArthur, T. (ed. ) (1992). The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-214183-X.  
• Robinson, Orrin (1992). Old English and Its Closest Relatives. Stanford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-8047-2221-8.  
• Keyton, John Samuel and Knott, Thomas Albert, A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English, G & C Merriam Company, Springfield, Mass, USA,1953.

See also

• English language learning and teaching
• Teaching English as a foreign language
• English for Academic Purposes
• Language Report

External links

• English language at Ethnologue
• National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition
• Accents of English from Around the World Hear and compare how the same 110 words are pronounced in 50 English accents from around the world - instantaneous playback online
• The Global English Survey Project A survey tracking how English is used by non-native speakers around the world
• 6000 English words recorded by a native speaker
• More than 20000 English words recorded by a native speaker

Dictionaries

• Merriam-Webster's online dictionary
• Oxford's online dictionary
• dict.org
• English language word roots, prefixes and suffixes (affixes) dictionary
• Collection of English bilingual dictionaries
• Dictionary of American Regional English