The language which most people use when they make contact with other nationalities is English: when a Chinese person meets someone from Spain, they will probably speak in English, Not in Chinese or Spanish. English is the international language of communication, and is spoken about 800 million people all over the world. It is also the language of science, business and advertising.
It`s the official language in 44 countries. English is the official language of the UK, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the USA, of Australia and New Zealand, the Republic of South Africa, the Irish Republic, India and Pakistan. English is a language of a Germanic group. Many English words were borrowed from the language of Angles and Saxons. Hundreds of French words came into English. The French Language was the official language of the ruling class in retain for three centuries. This explains the number of French words in English. Some words came into English directly from Latin. Latin was the language of the church and the universities in the Middle Ages.
Many English words are in common use: cool, sorry, goodbye, basketball and so on. In France, where the older generation objects to the influence of English, they have given this phenomenon a name “Franglais” and in Latin America they talk of “Spanglish”.
Some of the English words of today are derivatives. One way of creating new words is to put together two or more English words.
Millions of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English and read all over the world. 75% of the world`s mail and 60% of the world`s radio broadcasts are in English. Half of the world scientific literature is printed in English.
Nowadays English is the most fashionable language in the world. Millions of people study and use English as a foreign language. English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist.
(No Ratings Yet)