Learn English

Learn English and you will be able to speak with one out of every six people in the world. English is the primary language of international communication and is currently considered the most important world language.

About three-quarters of the world's mail, telexes and cables are in English. English is also the most popular language used on the internet, and makes up about 80% of the information stored in the world's computers. Five of the major broadcasting companies in the world (CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and CBC) transmit in English, reaching millions and millions of people all over the world.

With up to a billion people speaking or studying English around the world, modern English is described as the world lingua franca (global language). English is the prominent international language in communication, science, business, aviation, entertainment, and diplomacy. It is one of the official languages of the United Nations and has been since its founding in 1945. The English language is considered by many to be world's first universal language.

Somewhere around 700 million people use the various dialects of English regularly. About 377 million people speak English as their mother tongue, and a similar number of people use it as their second or foreign language. English is used widely in either the public or private sphere in more than 100 countries all over the world.

English Language History

The origins of the English language can be traced back to the 5th century when tribes from mainland Europe (Jutes from Denmark), (Angles and Saxons from Germany) settled in what was then Angle Land (England). Before the 5th century, the English language did not exist as the natives of Angle Land (England), spoke Brythonic (a very early form of modern Welsh). As these tribes from mainland Europe brought with them more advanced systems of trade and commerce, and to a certain degree culture, their language absorbed Brythonic and developed into an early form of the English language. Old English was then developed further by invasions in the 8th and 9th centuries by Germanic-Scandinavian invaders and in the 11th century by the Normans from France. Today, it is estimated that over 50% of words in English have Germanic and French origins.

English Language Learning Information

English is an intonation language. 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. Example:

John hadn't stolen that jacket. (... Someone else had.)

John hadn't stolen that jacket. (... You said he had.)

John hadn't stolen that jacket. (... He was given the jacket.)

John hadn't stolen that jacket. (... He had stolen some other jacket.)

John hadn't stolen that jacket. (... He stole something else.)

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The content of this page is original and is copyright of Languages in Action. It has been researched and adapted from several respected sources of English language information such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language.