#English language – a world language.
Nowadays, the English language is the language of business, science, technology, the media and communication in general, so it serves as a lingua franca in many countries. Geographically, English is the most widespread language on earth. In fact, people who speak English fall into 3 groups. The 1st one is those who have learned it as their native language. The next group consists of those who use it as a second language in a society that is mainly bilingual. Finally, the 3d group includes those who use it for a practical purpose (either for business or education).
However, the emergence of English as a world language is a relatively recent thing. Some 6 or 5 centuries ago, the situation was quite different. For example, in Shakespeare’s time only a few million people spoke English. Through the centuries, as a result of various historical events the English language was established as a mother tongue outside England.
In my opinion, there are several reasons why English has become a dominant language. First of all, it is the simplicity of form. English is an analytical language, one more characteristic of this language is its flexibility and the openness of its vocabluary. 70% of the English vocabulary are loan words and only 30% of the words are native.
However, the emergence of English as a world language is a relatively recent thing. Some 6 or 5 centuries ago, the situation was quite different. For example, in Shakespeare’s time only a few million people spoke English. Through the centuries, as a result of various historical events the English language was established as a mother tongue outside England.
In my opinion, there are several reasons why English has become a dominant language. First of all, it is the simplicity of form. English is an analytical language, one more characteristic of this language is its flexibility and the openness of its vocabluary. 70% of the English vocabulary are loan words and only 30% of the words are native.