English language {{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}} {{English language}} '''English''' is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]], [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic language]] originating in [[England]], and is the [[first language]] for most people in the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], and the [[Anglophone Caribbean]]. It is used extensively as a [[second language]] and as an [[official language]] throughout the world, especially in [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries and in many [[international organization]]s. ==Significance== Modern English, sometimes described as the first global [[lingua franca]], {{cite web |title=Global English: gift or curse? |url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=92238D4607726060BCBD3DB70C472D0F.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=291932 |accessdate=2005-04-04}} {{cite web |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/de/learning-elt-future.pdf |title=The Future of English? |accessdate=2007-04-15 |date=1997 |author=[[David Graddol]] |publisher=The British Council }} is the [[Linguistic imperialism|dominant]] [[international auxiliary language|international language]] in [[communication]]s, [[science]], [[business]], [[aviation]], [[entertainment]], [[radio]] and [[diplomacy]].{{cite web |url=http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=883997 |title= The triumph of English |accessdate=2007-03-26 |date=2001-12-20 |publisher=The Economist }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.ehistling-pub.meotod.de/01_lec06.php |title=Lecture 7: World-Wide English |accessdate=2007-03-26|publisher=EHistLing }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/de/learning-elt-future.pdf |title=The Future of English? |accessdate=2007-04-15 |date=1997 |author=[[David Graddol]] |publisher=The British Council }} 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 at least a basic level (see [[English language learning and teaching]]). Linguists such as [[David Crystal]] recognize that one impact of this massive growth of English, in common with other global languages, has been to reduce native [[Natural language#Linguistic diversity|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]]. By a similar token, [[historical linguistics|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 [[English-based creole languages|creoles]] and [[pidgin]]s, to produce a new [[language family|family]] of distinct languages over time.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} English is one of six official languages of the [[United Nations]]. ==History== {{main|History of the English language}} English is a [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] language that originated from the [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]] dialects brought to [[Great Britain|Britain]] by Germanic settlers and Roman auxiliary troops from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Northern [[Netherlands]]. Initially, [[Old English language|Old English]] was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of [[England]]. 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 [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian]] branch of the Germanic family; they conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries. The second was the [[Normans]] in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called [[Anglo-Norman]]. 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 [[Normans|Norman]] occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more elaborate layer of words from the [[Italic languages|Italic]] branch of the European languages. 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 languages|Germanic branch]] of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] family of languages. The closest living relative of English is [[Scots language|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. The next closest relative to English after Scots is [[Frisian languages|Frisian]], spoken in the Northern Netherlands and Northwest Germany. Other less closely related living [[West Germanic languages]] include [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Low German]], [[German language|German]] and [[Afrikaans]]. The [[North Germanic languages]] of Scandinavia are less closely related to English than the West Germanic languages.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} Many [[French language|French]] words are also intelligible to an English speaker (though pronunciations are often quite different) because English absorbed a large vocabulary from [[Norman language|Norman]] and French, via [[Anglo-Norman]] after the Norman Conquest and directly from French in subsequent centuries. 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 friend]]s. The pronunciation of French loanwords in English has become completely anglicized and follows a typically Germanic pattern of stress.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} == Geographical distribution == {{Seealso | List of countries by English-speaking population}} {{English official language clickable map}} Approximately 375 million people speak English as their first language.Curtis, Andy. ''Color, Race, And English Language Teaching: Shades of Meaning''. 2006, page 192. English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin Chinese]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].[http://web.archive.org/web/19990429232804/www.sil.org/ethnologue/top100.html Ethnologue, 1999][https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html CIA World Factbook], Field Listing - Languages (World). 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 language]]s, depending on whether or not distinctions in the latter are classified as "languages" or "dialects."[http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm Languages of the World (Charts)], Comrie (1998), Weber (1997), and the Summer Institute for Linguistics (SIL) 1999 Ethnologue Survey. Available at [http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm The World's Most Widely Spoken Languages]{{cite journal|url=http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp029_chinese_dialect.pdf|journal=Sino-Platonic Papers|last=Mair|first=Victor H.|authorlink=Victor H. Mair|title=What Is a Chinese "Dialect/Topolect"? Reflections on Some Key Sino-English Linguistic Terms|date=1991}} Estimates that include [[second language]] speakers vary greatly from 470 million to over a billion depending on how [[literacy]] or mastery is defined.{{cite web |url=http://columbia.tfd.com/English+language |title=English language |accessdate=2007-03-26 |date=2005 |publisher=Columbia University Press }}[http://www.oxfordseminars.com/Tesol/Pages/Teach/teach_20000jobs.php 20,000 Teaching ] There are some who claim that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7038031/site/newsweek/ Not the Queen's English], Newsweek International, March 7 edition, 2007. The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: United States (215 million),{{cite web| url = http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/06statab/pop.pdf| title = U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003, Section 1 Population| format = pdf| publisher = U.S. Census Bureau| pages = 59 pages| language = English}} Table 47 gives the figure of 214,809,000 for those five years old and over who speak exclusively English at home. Based on the American Community Survey, these results exclude those living communally (such as college dormitories, institutions, and group homes), and by definition exclude native English speakers who speak more than one language at home. United Kingdom (58 million),[http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521530334 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Second Edition, Crystal, David; Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, [1995] (2003-08-03).] Canada (18.2 million),[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/language/Table401.cfm Population by mother tongue and age groups, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data], Census 2006, [[Statistics Canada]]. Australia (15.5 million),[http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=TLPD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Language%20Spoken%20at%20Home%20by%20Sex%20-%20Time%20Series%20Statistics%20(1996,%202001,%202006%20Census%20Years)&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Language& Census Data from Australian Bureau of Statistics] Main Language Spoken at Home. The figure is the number of people who only speak English at home. [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] (3.8 million), South Africa (3.7 million),[http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/CinBrief/CinBrief2001.pdf Census in Brief], page 15 (Table 2.5), 2001 Census, [[Statistics South Africa]]. and New Zealand (3.0-3.7 million).[http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-census-data/classification-counts/about-people/language-spoken.htm Languages spoken], 2006 Census, [[Statistics New Zealand]]. No figure is given for the number of native speakers, but it would be somewhere between the number of people who spoke English only (3,008,058) and the total number of English speakers (3,673,623), if one ignores the 197,187 people who did not provide a usable answer. Countries such as [[Jamaica]] and [[Nigeria]] also have millions of native speakers of [[dialect continuum|dialect continua]] ranging from an [[English-based creole languages|English-based creole]] to a more standard version of English. 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.[http://education.guardian.co.uk/tefl/story/0,,1355064,00.html Subcontinent Raises Its Voice], Crystal, David; Guardian Weekly: Friday November 19, 2004. Following India is the [[People's Republic of China]].Yong Zhao; Keith P. Campbell (1995). "English in China". World Englishes 14 (3): 377–390. Hong Kong contributes an additional 2.5 million speakers (1996 by-census]). ===Countries in order of total speakers=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Rank !! Country !! Total !! Percent of population !! First language !! As an additional language !! class="unsortable" | Comment |- |1|| [[United States]] ||251,388,301||83%||215,423,557||35,964,744||Source: US Census 2006: [http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-29.pdf Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2006], Table 1. Figure for second language speakers are respondents who reported they do not speak English at home but know it "very well" or "well". Note: figures are for population age 5 and older |- |2|| [[India]] ||90,000,000||8%||178,598||65,000,000 ''second'' language speakers.
25,000,000 ''third'' language speakers ||Figures include both those who speak English as a ''second language'' and those who speak it as a ''third language''. 1991 figures.Census of India's [http://www.censusindia.net/results/eci19.pdf eCensusIndia], Issue 10, 2003, pp 8-10, (Feature: Languages of West Bengal in Census and Surveys, Bilingualism and Trilingualism). Tropf, Herbert S. 2004. [http://www.lilaproject.org/docs/India%20and%20its%20Languages%20v1.0.pdf India and its Languages]. Siemens AG, Munich The figures include English ''speakers'', but not English ''users''. For the distinction between "English Speakers," and "English Users," please see: TESOL-India (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages)], [http://tesol-india.ac.in/EnglishTeachingIndustry/en/india-worlds-second-largest-english-speaking-country India: World's Second Largest English-Speaking Country]. Their article explains the difference between the 350 million number mentioned in a previous version of this Wikipedia article and a more plausible 90 million number: {{cquote|"Wikipedia's India estimate of 350 million includes two categories - "English Speakers" and "English Users". The distinction between the Speakers and Users is that Users only know how to read English words while Speakers know how to read English, understand spoken English as well as form their own sentences to converse in English. The distinction becomes clear when you consider the China numbers. China has over 200~350 million users that can read English words but, as anyone can see on the streets of China, only handful of million who are English speakers."}} |- |3|| [[Nigeria]] ||79,000,000||53%||4,000,000||>75,000,000||Figures are for speakers of [[Nigerian Pidgin]], an English-based pidgin or creole. Ihemere gives a range of roughly 3 to 5 million native speakers; the midpoint of the range is used in the table. Ihemere, Kelechukwu Uchechukwu. 2006. "[http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol15num3/ihemere.pdf A Basic Description and Analytic Treatment of Noun Clauses in Nigerian Pidgin.]" ''Nordic Journal of African Studies'' 15(3): 296–313. |- |4|| [[United Kingdom]] ||59,600,000||98%||58,100,000||1,500,000||Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. |- |5|| [[Philippines]] ||45,900,000||52%||27,000||42,500,000||Total speakers: Census 2000, [http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/sr05153tx.html text above Figure 7]. 63.71% of the 66.7 million people aged 5 years or more could speak English. Native speakers: Census 1995, as quoted by Andrew Gonzalez in [http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/019/0487/jmmd0190487.pdf The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines], Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 19 (5&6), 487-525. (1998) |- |6|| [[Canada]] ||25,246,220||76%||17,694,830||7,551,390||Source: 2001 Census - [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/LanguageComposition/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&View=1b&Table=1a&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=Counts&B2=Both Knowledge of Official Languages] and [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/LanguageComposition/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&View=1a&Table=1a&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=Counts&B2=Both Mother Tongue]. The native speakers figure comprises 122,660 people with both French and English as a mother tongue, plus 17,572,170 people with English and not French as a mother tongue. |- |7|| [[Australia]] ||18,172,989|| 92% ||15,581,329||2,591,660||Source: 2006 Census.[http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=TLPD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Proficiency%20in%20Spoken%20English/Language%20by%20Age%20-%20Time%20Series%20Statistics%20(1996,%202001,%202006%20Census%20Years)&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Cultural%20& Australian Bureau of Statistics] The figure shown in the first language English speakers column is actually the number of Australian residents who speak only English at home. The additional language column shows the number of other residents who claim to speak English "well" or "very well". Another 5% of residents did not state their home language or English proficiency. |} English is the primary language in [[Anguilla]], [[Antigua and Barbuda]], Australia ([[Australian English]]), the [[The Bahamas|Bahamas]], [[Barbados]], [[Bermuda]], [[Belize]] ([[Belizean Kriol language|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 [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]], and the United States. 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]], [[The Gambia|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]]. It is also one of the 11 official languages that are given equal status in South Africa ([[South African English]]). English is also the official language in current [[dependent territory|dependent territories]] of Australia ([[Norfolk Island]], [[Christmas Island]] and [[Cocos Island]]) and of the United States ([[Northern Mariana Islands]], [[American Samoa]] and [[Puerto Rico]]),{{Citation |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=vyQDYqz2kFsC&pg=RA1-PA62&lpg=RA1-PA62&dq=%22puerto+rico%22+official+language+1993&source=web&ots=AZKLran6u3&sig=8fkQ9gwM0B0kwVYMNtXr-_9dnro |title=Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity |author=Nancy Morris |year=1995 |publisher=Praeger/Greenwood |isbn=0275952282 |pages=62}} and in the former British colony of [[Hong Kong]]. English is an important language in several former [[colony|colonies]] and [[protectorate]]s of the United Kingdom but falls short of official status, such as in [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], [[United Arab Emirates]] and [[Bahrain]]. English is also not an official language in either the United States or the United Kingdom.[http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/USlanguages.html Languages Spoken in the U.S.], National Virtual Translation Center, 2006.[http://www.us-English.org/foundation/research/olp/viewResearch.asp?CID=22&TID=1 U.S. English Foundation], Official Language Research -- United Kingdom. Although the United States federal government has no official languages, English has been given official status by 30 of the 50 state governments.[http://www.us-english.org/inc/official/states.asp U.S. ENGLISH,Inc] ===English as a global language=== {{See also|English in computing|International English|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. |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/de/learning-elt-future.pdf |title=The Future of English? |accessdate=2007-04-15 |date=1997 |author=David Graddol |publisher=The British Council 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. Some linguists{{Who|date=November 2007}} 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.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} English is an official language of the [[United Nations]] and many other international organizations, including the [[International Olympic Committee]]. 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%).[http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html The Official EU languages] 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%).[http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf European Union] [[Norway]] and [[Iceland]] also have a large majority of competent English-speakers.{{fact}} [[Book]]s, [[magazine]]s, and [[newspaper]]s written in English are available in many countries around the world. English is also the most commonly used language in the [[science]]s. |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/de/learning-elt-future.pdf |title=The Future of English? |accessdate=2007-04-15 |date=1997 |author=David Graddol |publisher=The British Council 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. === Dialects and regional varieties === {{main | 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/de/learning-elt-future.pdf |title=The Future of English? |accessdate=2007-04-15 |date=1997 |author=David Graddol |publisher=The British Council }} Because of that global spread, English has developed a host of [[List of dialects of the English language|English dialects]] and English-based [[creole language]]s and [[pidgin]]s. The major [[Variety (linguistics)|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]]. 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.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} [[Scots language|Scots]] developed—largely independently{{Fact|date=May 2008}}—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. Whether it is now a separate language or a [[dialect]] of English better described as [[Scottish English]] is in dispute. 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 [[Accent (linguistics)|accents]], which often signal the speaker's native dialect or 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]]. Just as English itself has borrowed words from many different languages over its history, English [[loanword]]s now appear in a great many languages around the world, indicative of the technological and cultural influence of its speakers. Several [[pidgin]]s and [[creole language]]s have formed using an English base, such as [[Jamaican (language)|Jamaican Patois]], [[Nigerian Pidgin]], and [[Tok Pisin]]. 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]]. Another variant, spoken in the border bilingual regions of Québec{{Fact|date=April 2008}} in Canada, is called [[Franglais#Frenglish|Frenglish]]. In [[Wales]], which is part of the United Kingdom, the languages of [[Welsh language|Welsh]] and English are sometimes mixed together by fluent or comfortable Welsh speakers, the result of which is called [[Welsh English|Wenglish]]. === Constructed varieties of English === * [[Basic English]] is simplified for easy international use. 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]]. It uses a vocabulary of only 1500 words. * [[English spelling reform|English reform]] is an attempt to improve collectively upon the English language. * [[Seaspeak]] and the related [[NATO phonetic alphabet|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. There is also a [[tunnelspeak]] for use in the [[Channel Tunnel]]. * [[Euro-English]] is a concept of standardising English for use as a second language in continental Europe. * [[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. 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. * [[E-Prime]] excludes forms of the verb ''to be''. 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]]. == Phonology == {{main | English phonology}} === Vowels === {| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" class="wikitable" ![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] !! Description !! word |- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left; background:#dedede"| [[monophthong]]s |- | {{IPA | i/iː}} || [[Close front unrounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|ea}}d |- | {{IPA | ɪ}} || [[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|i}}d |- | {{IPA | ɛ}} || [[Open-mid front unrounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|e}}d |- | {{IPA | æ}} || [[Near-open front unrounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|a}}d |- | {{IPA | ɒ}} || [[Open back rounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|o}}x {{footnote | 1}} |- | {{IPA | ɔ/ɑ}} || [[Open-mid back rounded vowel]] || p{{bold dark red|aw}}ed {{footnote | 2}} |- | {{IPA | ɑ/ɑː}} || [[Open back unrounded vowel]] || br{{bold dark red|a}} |- | {{IPA | ʊ}} || [[Near-close near-back vowel]] || g{{bold dark red|oo}}d |- | {{IPA | u/uː}} || [[Close back rounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|oo}}ed |- | {{IPA | ʌ/ɐ/ɘ}} || [[Open-mid back unrounded vowel]], [[near-open central vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|u}}d |- | {{IPA | ɝ/ɜː}} || [[Open-mid central unrounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|ir}}d {{footnote | 3}} |- | {{IPA | ə}} || [[Schwa]] || Ros{{bold dark red|a}}'s {{footnote | 4}} |- | {{IPA | ɨ}} || [[Close central unrounded vowel]] || ros{{bold dark red|e}}s {{footnote | 5}} |- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left; background:#dedede"| [[Diphthong]]s |- | {{IPA | e(ɪ)/eɪ}} || [[Close-mid front unrounded vowel]]
[[Close front unrounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|ay}}ed {{footnote | 6}} |- | {{IPA | o(ʊ)/əʊ}} || [[Close-mid back rounded vowel]]
[[Near-close near-back vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|o}}de {{footnote | 6}} |- | {{IPA | aɪ}} || [[Open front unrounded vowel]]
[[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel]] || cr{{bold dark red|y}} |- | {{IPA | aʊ}} || [[Open front unrounded vowel]]
[[Near-close near-back vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|ough}} |- | {{IPA | ɔɪ}} || [[Open-mid back rounded vowel]]
[[Close front unrounded vowel]] || b{{bold dark red|oy}} |- | {{IPA | ʊɚ/ʊə}} || [[Near-close near-back vowel]]
[[Schwa]] || b{{bold dark red|oor}} {{footnote|9}} |- | {{IPA | ɛɚ/ɛə/eɚ}} || [[Open-mid front unrounded vowel]]
[[Schwa]] || f{{bold dark red|air}} {{footnote|10}} |} '''Notes:''' It is the [[vowel]]s that differ most from region to region. Where symbols appear in pairs, the first corresponds to American English, [[General American]] accent; the second corresponds to British English, [[Received Pronunciation]]. # American English lacks this sound; words with this sound are pronounced with {{IPA | /ɑ/}} or {{IPA | /ɔ/}}. See [[Phonological history of English low back vowels#Lot-cloth split|''Lot-cloth split'']]. # Some dialects of North American English do not have this vowel. See [[phonological history of English low_back vowels#Cot-caught merger|''Cot-caught merger'']]. # The North American variation of this sound is a [[r-colored vowel|rhotic vowel]]. # 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]] {{IPA | /ə/}}. # This sound is often transcribed with {{IPA | /i/}} or with {{IPA | /ɪ/}}. # The diphthongs {{IPA | /eɪ/}} and {{IPA | /oʊ/}} are monophthongal for many General American speakers, as {{IPA | /eː/}} and {{IPA | /oː/}}. # The letter <''U''> can represent either {{IPA|/u/}} or the [[iotation|iotated]] vowel {{IPA|/ju/}}. In BRP, if this iotated vowel {{IPA|/ju/}} occurs after {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}}, it often triggers palatalization of the preceding consonant, turning it to {{IPA|/ʨ/}}, {{IPA|/ʥ/}}, {{IPA|/ɕ/}} and {{IPA|/ʑ/}} respectively, as in ''tune'', ''during'', ''sugar'', and ''azure''. In American English, palatalization does not generally happen unless the {{IPA|/ju/}} is followed by ''r'', with the result that {{IPA|/(t, d,s, z)jur/}} turn to {{IPA|/tʃɚ/}}, {{IPA|/dʒɚ/}}, {{IPA|/ʃɚ/}} and {{IPA|/ʒɚ/}} respectively, as in ''nature'', ''verdure'', ''sure'', and ''treasure''. # [[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 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. Before the [[Great Vowel Shift]], vowel length was phonemically contrastive. # This sound only occurs in non-rhotic accents. In some accents, this sound may be, instead of {{IPA|/ʊə/}}, {{IPA|/ɔ:/}}. See [[English-language vowel changes before historic r]]. # This sound only occurs in non-rhotic accents. In some accents, the schwa offglide of {{IPA|/ɛə/}} may be dropped, monophthising and lengthening the sound to {{IPA|/ɛ:/}}. See also [[IPA chart for English dialects]] for more vowel charts. === Consonants === This is the English consonantal system using symbols from the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA). {| class="wikitable" !   ![[bilabial consonant|Bilabial]] ![[labiodental consonant|Labio-
dental]] ![[interdental consonant|Dental]] ![[alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] ![[postalveolar consonant|Post-
alveolar]] ![[palatal consonant|Palatal]] ![[velar consonant|Velar]] ![[Labial-velar consonant|Labial-
velar]] ![[glottal consonant|Glottal]] |- ![[nasal consonant|Nasal]] | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | m}} |   |   | style="text-align:center;" |{{IPA | n}} |   |   | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | ŋ}} {{footnote | 1}} | |   |- ![[Stop consonant|Plosive]] | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | p  b}} |   |   | style="text-align:center;" |{{IPA | t  d}} |   |   | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | k  ɡ}} | |   |- ![[affricate consonant|Affricate]] |   |   |   |   | style="text-align:center;" |{{IPA | tʃ  dʒ}} {{footnote | 4}} |   | |   |   |- ![[fricative consonant|Fricative]] |   | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | f  v}} | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | θ  ð}} {{footnote | 3}} | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | s  z}} | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | ʃ  ʒ}} {{footnote | 4}} | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | ç}} {{footnote | 5}} | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | x}} {{footnote | 6}} | | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | h}} |- ![[flap consonant|Flap]] |   |   |   | style="text-align:center;" |{{IPA | ɾ}} {{footnote | 2}} |   |   |   | |   |- ![[approximant consonant|Approximant]] |   |   |   | style="text-align:center;" |{{IPA | ɹ}} {{footnote | 4}} |   | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | j}} |   | style="text-align:center;"|{{IPA | ʍ  w}}{{footnote | 7}} |   |- ![[lateral consonant|Lateral]] |   |   |   | style="text-align:center;" |{{IPA | l}} |   |   |   | |   |} # The [[velar nasal]] {{IPA | [ŋ]}} is a non-phonemic allophone of /n/ in some northerly British accents, appearing only before /k/ and /g/. In all other dialects it is a separate phoneme, although it only occurs in [[syllable coda]]s. # The [[alveolar tap]] {{IPA | [ɾ]}} is an allophone of /t/ and /d/ in unstressed syllables in [[North American English]] and [[Australian English]].{{cite journal| last=Cox |first=Felicity |year=2006 |title=Australian English Pronunciation into the 21st century |url=http://www.shlrc.mq.edu.au/~felicity/Papers/Prospect_Erratum_v1.pdf |accessdate=2007-07-22 |journal=Prospect |volume=21 |pages=3–21}} 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 {{IPA|/ɹ/}}. This is the same sound represented by single ''r'' in most varieties of [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. # 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/. In some Irish varieties, /θ/ and /ð/ become the corresponding dental plosives, which then contrast with the usual alveolar plosives. # The sounds {{IPA | /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 (always rhoticized) as the [[retroflex approximant]] {{IPA|/ɻ/}}, whereas the same is realized in [[Scottish English]], etc. as the [[alveolar trill]]. # The [[voiceless palatal fricative]] /ç/ is in most accents just an [[allophone]] of /h/ before /j/; for instance ''human'' /çjuːmən/. However, in some accents (see [[Phonological history of English consonant clusters|this]]), the /j/ is dropped, but the initial consonant is the same. # The [[voiceless velar fricative]] /x/ is used by Scottish or Welsh speakers of English for Scots/Gaelic words such as ''loch'' {{IPA | /lɒx/}} or by some speakers for loanwords from German and Hebrew like ''Bach'' {{IPA|/bax/}} or ''Chanukah'' /xanuka/. /x/ is also used in South African English. In some dialects such as [[Scouse]] ([[Liverpool]]) either {{IPA|[x]}} or the [[affricate consonant|affricate]] {{IPA|[kx]}} may be used as an [[allophone]] of /k/ in words such as ''docker'' {{IPA | [dɒkxə]}}. 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. # Voiceless w {{IPA | [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 ==== [[Voice (phonetics)|Voicing]] and [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspiration]] of [[stop consonant]]s in English depend on dialect and context, but a few general rules can be given: * Voiceless [[stop consonant|plosives]] and [[affricate consonant|affricates]] (/{{IPA | p}}/, /{{IPA | t}}/, /{{IPA | k}}/, and /{{IPA | tʃ}}/) are aspirated when they are word-initial or begin a stressed syllable — compare ''pin'' {{IPA | [pʰɪn]}} and ''spin'' {{IPA | [spɪn]}}, ''crap'' {{IPA | [kʰɹ̥æp]}} and ''scrap'' {{IPA | [skɹæp]}}. ** In some dialects, aspiration extends to unstressed syllables as well. ** In other dialects, such as [[Indian English]], all voiceless stops remain unaspirated. * 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'' [{{IPA |tʰæp̚}}], ''sack'' [{{IPA |sæk̚}}]. * Word-terminal voiced plosives may be devoiced in some dialects (e.g. some varieties of [[American English]]) — examples: ''sad'' [{{IPA |sæd̥}}], ''bag'' [{{IPA |bæɡ̊}}]. 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 (linguistics)|intonation language]]. This means that the [[pitch (music)|pitch]] of the [[human voice|voice]] is used [[Syntax|syntactically]], for example, to convey [[surprise (emotion)|surprise]] and [[irony]], or to change a [[sentence (linguistics)|statement]] into a [[question]]. 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: : -{{IPA | /duː juː niːd ˈɛnɪˌθɪŋ/}} ''Do you need anything?'' : -{{IPA | /aɪ dəʊnt | nəʊ/}} ''I don't, no'' : -{{IPA | /aɪ dəʊnt nəʊ/}} ''I don't know'' (contracted to, for example, -{{IPA | /aɪ dəʊnəʊ/}} or {{IPA | /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 ( {{IPA | ˈ}} ) sign either before (as in [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]], [[Oxford English Dictionary]], or [[Merriam-Webster]] dictionaries) or after (as in many other dictionaries) the syllable where the stress accent falls. 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. (... Someone 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 had stolen 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 | English grammar}} English grammar has minimal [[inflection]] compared with most other [[Indo-European languages]]. For example, Modern English, unlike Modern German or Dutch and the [[Romance languages]], lacks [[grammatical gender]] and [[Agreement (linguistics)|adjectival agreement]]. [[Grammatical case|Case]] marking has almost disappeared from the language and mainly survives in [[pronoun]]s. The patterning of [[Strong inflection|strong]] (e.g. ''speak/spoke/spoken'') versus [[Germanic weak verb|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. At the same time, the language has become more [[Isolating language|analytic]], and has developed features such as [[modal verb]]s and [[word order]] as resources for conveying meaning. [[Auxiliary verb]]s mark constructions such as questions, negative polarity, the [[Grammatical voice|passive voice]] and progressive [[grammatical aspect|aspect]]. == Vocabulary == The English vocabulary has changed considerably over the centuries.For the processes and triggers of English vocabulary changes cf. [http://www1.ku-eichstaett.de/SLF/EngluVglSW/OnOnMon1.pdf ''English and General Historical Lexicology'' (by Joachim Grzega and Marion Schöner)] {{wiktionary|Appendix:List of Proto-Indo-European roots}} Like many languages deriving from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE), many of the most common words in English can trace back their origin (through the Germanic branch) to PIE. Such words include the basic pronouns ''I'', from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''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 [[obfuscation|obfuscate]] an issue. [[George Orwell]]'s [[essay]] "[[Politics and the English Language]]" is critical of this, as well as other perceived misuse of the language. An English speaker is in many cases able to choose between Germanic and Latinate [[synonym]]s: ''come'' or ''arrive''; ''sight'' or ''vision''; ''freedom'' or ''liberty''. 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 [[Register (sociolinguistics)|linguistic register]]. See: [[List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English]]. 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]]''; ''[[cattle|cow]]'' and ''[[beef]]''; ''swine''/''[[pig]]'' and ''[[pork]]'', or ''[[domestic sheep|sheep]]'' and ''[[lamb and mutton|mutton]]''. 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.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} 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 [[court]]room or an [[encyclopedia]] article.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} 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: ''[[HTTP cookie|cookie]]'', ''[[Internet]]'' and ''[[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]]'' (technical terms), as well as ''[[genre]]'', ''[[über]]'', ''[[lingua franca]]'' and ''amigo'' (imported words/phrases from French, German, modern Latin, and Spanish, respectively). In addition, [[slang]] often provides new meanings for old words and phrases. 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]]. === Number of words in English === The ''General Explanations'' at the beginning of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states: {{cquote|The Vocabulary of a widely diffused and highly cultivated living language is not a fixed quantity circumscribed by definite limits... there is absolutely no defining line in any direction: the circle of the English language has a well-defined centre but no discernible circumference.}} 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 [[Académie française|French]], [[List of language regulators|German]], [[Real Academia Española|Spanish]] and [[Accademia della Crusca|Italian]] there is no [[List of language regulators|Academy]] to define officially accepted words and spellings. [[Neologism]]s are coined regularly in medicine, science and technology and other fields, and new [[slang]] is constantly developed. 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: {{cquote|It embraces not only the standard language of literature and conversation, whether current at the moment, or obsolete, or archaic, but also the main technical vocabulary, and a large measure of dialectal usage and slang (Supplement to the ''OED,'' 1933).It went on to clarify,{{cquote|Hence we exclude all words that had become obsolete by 1150 [the end of the [[Old English]] era] . . . Dialectal words and forms which occur since 1500 are not admitted, except when they continue the history of the word or sense once in general use, illustrate the history of a word, or have themselves a certain literary currency.}}}} The editors of ''[[Webster's Dictionary|Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged]]'' (475,000 main headwords) in their preface, estimate the number to be much higher. It is estimated that about 25,000 words are added to the language each year.Kister, Ken. "Dictionaries defined." ''Library Journal,'' 6/15/92, Vol. 117 Issue 11, p43, 4p, 2bw === Word origins === {{main|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 languages|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). 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){{cite book | last= Finkenstaedt | first= Thomas | coauthors= Dieter Wolff | title= Ordered profusion; studies in dictionaries and the English lexicon | publisher= C. Winter | year=1973 | id=ISBN 3-533-02253-6}} that estimated the origin of English words as follows: [[Image:Origins of English PieChart 2D.svg|thumb|250px|Influences in English vocabulary]] *''[[Langues d'oïl|Langue d'oïl]]'', including French and [[Old Norman]]: [[List of English words of French origin|28.3%]] *Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24% *Other [[Germanic languages]] (including words directly inherited from [[Old English language|Old English]]): 25% *Greek: 5.32% *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:[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0029344700 Joseph M. Willams, Origins of the English Language at Amazon.com] *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.[http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/engol-0-X.html Old English Online] ==== Dutch origins ==== {{main|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. ''Yacht'' (''jacht'') and ''cruiser'' (''kruiser'') are examples. ==== French origins ==== {{main|List of French words and phrases used by English speakers}} There are many [[List of English words of French origin|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 [[anglicisation|anglicised]]; they are now pronounced according to English rules of [[phonology]], rather than French. A large portion of English vocabulary is of French or [[Langues d'oïl]] origin, most derived from, or transmitted via, the [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] spoken by the [[upper class]]es in [[England]] for several hundred years after the [[Norman conquest of England]]. == Writing system == {{main|English alphabet|English orthography}} English has been written using the [[Latin alphabet]] since around the ninth century. (Before that, Old English had been written using [[Anglo-Saxon runes]].) 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 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.Abbott, M. (2000). Identifying reliable generalizations for spelling words: The importance of multilevel analysis. The Elementary School Journal 101(2), 233-245. Some phonics spelling advocates claim that English is more than 80% phonetic. Moats, L. M. (2001). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Company. In general, [[history of the English language|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. The consequence of this orthographic history is that reading can be challenging.Diane McGuinness, ''Why Our Children Can’t Read'' (New York: Touchstone, 1997) pp. 156-169 It takes longer for students to become completely fluent readers of English than of many other languages, including French, Greek, and Spanish. Ziegler, J. C., & Goswami, U. (2005). Reading acquisition, developmental dyslexia, and skilled reading across languages. ''Psychological Bulletin, 131''(1), 3-29. === Basic sound-letter correspondence === {{seealso|Hard and soft C|Hard and soft G}} Only the consonant letters are pronounced in a relatively regular way: {| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" ! IPA || align="left" | Alphabetic representation || Dialect-specific |- | [[voiceless bilabial plosive|p]] || p || |- | [[voiced bilabial plosive|b]] || b || |- | [[voiceless alveolar plosive|t]] || t, th ''(rarely) thyme, Thames'' || th ''thing'' ''([[African American Vernacular English|African American]], [[New York dialect|New York]])'' |- | [[voiced alveolar plosive|d]] || d || th ''that'' ''(African American, New York)'' |- | [[voiceless velar plosive|k]] || c ''(+ a, o, u, consonants)'', k, ck, ch, qu ''(rarely) conquer'', kh ''(in foreign words)'' || |- | [[voiced velar plosive|g]] || g, gh, gu ''(+ a, e, i)'', gue ''(final position)'' || |- | [[bilabial nasal|m]] || m || |- | [[alveolar nasal|n]] || n || |- | [[velar nasal|ŋ]] || n ''(before g or k)'', ng || |- | [[voiceless labiodental fricative|f]] || f, ph, gh ''(final, infrequent) laugh, rough'' || th ''thing'' ''(many forms of [[English language in England]])'' |- | [[voiced labiodental fricative|v]] || v || th ''with'' ''([[Cockney]], [[Estuary English]])'' |- | [[voiceless dental fricative|θ]] || th ''thick, think, through'' || |- | [[voiced dental fricative|ð]] || th ''that, this, the'' || |- | [[voiceless alveolar fricative|s]] || s, c ''(+ e, i, y)'', sc ''(+ e, i, y)'', ç ''(façade)'' || |- | [[voiced alveolar fricative|z]] || z, s ''(finally or occasionally medially)'', ss ''(rarely) possess, dessert'', word-initial x ''xylophone'' || |- | [[voiceless postalveolar fricative|{{IPA|ʃ}}]] || sh, sch, ti (before vowel) ''portion'', ci/ce (before vowel) ''suspicion'', ''ocean''; si/ssi (before vowel) ''tension'', ''mission''; ch ''(esp. in words of French origin)''; rarely s/ss before u ''sugar'', ''issue''; chsi in ''fuchsia'' only|| |- | [[voiced postalveolar fricative|{{IPA|ʒ}}]] || medial si (before vowel) ''division'', medial s (before "ur") ''pleasure'', zh ''(in foreign words)'', z before u ''azure'', g ''(in words of French origin) (+e, i, y) genre || |- | [[voiceless velar fricative|x]] || kh, ch, h ''(in foreign words)'' || occasionally ch ''loch'' ''([[Scottish English]], [[Welsh English]])'' |- | [[voiceless glottal fricative|h]] || h ''(syllable-initially, otherwise silent)'' || |- | [[voiceless postalveolar affricate|{{IPA|tʃ}}]] || ch, tch, t before u ''future'', ''culture''||t ''(+ u, ue, eu)'' ''tune, Tuesday, Teutonic'' ''(several dialects - see [[Phonological history of English consonant clusters]])'' |- | [[voiced postalveolar affricate|{{IPA|dʒ}}]] || j, g ''(+ e, i, y)'', dg ''(+ e, i, consonant) badge, judg(e)ment'' || d ''(+ u, ue, ew)'' ''dune, due, dew'' ''(several dialects - another example of yod coalescence)'' |- | [[alveolar approximant|{{IPA|ɹ}}]] || r, wr (initial) ''wrangle'' || |- | [[palatal approximant|j]] || y ''(initially or surrounded by vowels)'' || |- | [[alveolar lateral approximant|l]] || l || |- | [[Voiced labial-velar approximant|{{IPA|w}}]] || w || |- | [[Voiceless labio-velar approximant|{{IPA|ʍ}}]] || wh (''pronounced'' hw)|| Scottish and Irish English, as well as some varieties of American, New Zealand, and English English |} === Written accents === {{main|English words with diacritics}} Unlike most other Germanic languages, English has almost no [[diacritic]]s except in foreign [[loanword]]s (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.g. ''naïve, Zoë''). It is almost always acceptable to leave out the marks, especially in digital communications where the [[QWERTY]] keyboard lacks any marked letters, but it depends on the context where the word is used. Some English words retain the diacritic to distinguish them from others, such as ''[[Animé (oleo-resin)|animé]], [[Investigative journalism|exposé]], [[Lamé (fencing)|lamé]], [[öre]], [[øre]], [[pâté]], [[piqué]],'' and ''[[rosé]]'', though these are sometimes also dropped (''[[résumé]]/resumé'' is usually spelled ''resume'' in the United States). There are loan words which occasionally use a diacritic to represent their pronunciation that is not in the original word, such as ''maté'', from Spanish ''[[yerba mate]]'', following the French usage, but they are extremely rare. == Formal written English == {{main | Formal written English}} A version of the language almost universally agreed upon by educated English speakers around the world is called [[formal written English]]. 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 [[dialect]]s, [[Accent (linguistics)|accents]], and varieties of [[slang]], colloquial and regional expressions. In spite of this, local variations in the formal written version of the language are quite limited, being restricted largely to the [[American and British English spelling differences|spelling differences between British and American English]]. == 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). 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]]. 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 [[World War II|Second World War]] as a tool for world peace. 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 natural language|controlled language]] originally developed for [[aerospace]] industry maintenance manuals. 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". == See also == * [[Changes to Old English vocabulary]] * [[English for Academic Purposes]] * [[English language learning and teaching]] * [[Language Report]] * [[Teaching English as a foreign language]] == Notes == {{reflist|2}} ==References== * {{cite book | last=Baugh | first=Albert C. | coauthors=Thomas Cable | title=A history of the English language | edition=5th ed. | publisher=Routledge | year=2002 | id=ISBN 0-415-28099-0}} * {{cite book | last=Bragg | first=Melvyn | authorlink=Melvyn Bragg | title=The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language | publisher=Arcade Publishing | year=2004 | id=ISBN 1-55970-710-0}} * {{cite book | last=Crystal | first=David | authorlink=David Crystal | year=1997 | title=English as a Global Language | location=Cambridge | publisher=Cambridge University Press | id=ISBN 0-521-53032-6}} * {{cite book | last=Crystal | first=David | authorlink=David Crystal | title=The Stories of English | publisher=Allen Lane | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0-7139-9752-4}} * {{cite book | last=Crystal | first=David | authorlink=David Crystal | title=The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language | edition=2nd ed. | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2003 | id=ISBN 0-521-53033-4}} * {{cite book | last=Halliday | first=MAK | title=An introduction to functional grammar | edition=2nd ed. | location=London | publisher=Edward Arnold | year=1994 | id=ISBN 0-340-55782-6}} * {{cite book | last=Hayford | first=Harrison | coauthors= Howard P. Vincent | title=Reader and Writer | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company | year=1954 }} [http://www.archive.org/details/readerandwriter030101mbp] * {{cite book | last=McArthur | first=T. (ed.) | title=The Oxford Companion to the English Language | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1992 | id=ISBN 0-19-214183-X}} * {{cite book | last=Robinson | first=Orrin | title=Old English and Its Closest Relatives | publisher=Stanford Univ. Press | year=1992 | id=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. ==External links== {{Wikiversity|Topic:English Language}} {{interwiki | code=w}} {{Commonscat}} {{Wikiquote}} * {{ethnologue|code=eng}} * [http://www.ncela.gwu.edu National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition] * [http://www.soundcomparisons.com 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 * [http://www.global-english.co.nr/ The Global English Survey Project] A survey tracking how English is used by non-native speakers around the world * [http://arael.shtooka.net/swf/english/ 6000 English words recorded by a native speaker] * [http://itcansay.com More than 20000 English words recorded by a native speaker] === Dictionaries === {{Wiktionarylang | code=en}} * [http://www.m-w.com Merriam-Webster's online dictionary] * [http://www.askoxford.com Oxford's online dictionary] * [http://www.dict.org dict.org] * [http://www.prefixsuffix.com English language word roots, prefixes and suffixes (affixes) dictionary] * [http://dicts.info/dictlist1.php Collection of English bilingual dictionaries] * [http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dare/dare.html Dictionary of American Regional English] {{template group|title=Linguistics|list= {{Germanic languages}} {{History of English}} {{English dialects}} }} {{template group|title=Politics|list= {{Working AU languages}} {{Official UN languages}} {{Official EU languages}} {{Official Languages of South America}} }} [[Category:English language| ]] [[Category:Languages of The Gambia]] [[Category:Languages of American Samoa]] [[Category:Languages of Australia]] [[Category:Languages of Bangladesh]] [[Category:Languages of Belize]] [[Category:Languages of Botswana]] [[Category:Languages of Cameroon]] [[Category:Languages of 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