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See English language word origins and List of English words of French origin. Although English is a Germanic language, it has a deep connection to Romance languages. The roots of this connection trace back to the Conquest of England by the Normans in 1066.
Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca, [65] [135] is also regarded as the first world language. [136] [137] English is the world's most widely used language in newspaper publishing, book publishing, international telecommunications, scientific publishing, international trade, mass entertainment, and diplomacy. [137]
The Turkish language has become more open to English influences due to Turkey's Westernisation in the early 20th century and adoption of the Latin alphabet. [39] Because English is among the most common languages in Israel, it has also influenced Modern Hebrew, [40] though it has less presence in the Arab areas. [41]
The Story of English is a nine-part television series, produced in 1986, detailing the development of the English language. [1] The Story of English is also a companion book, also produced in 1986. The book and the television series were written by Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum, and William Cran. [2]
Braj Kachru divides the use of English into three concentric circles. [8]The inner circle is the traditional base of English and includes countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland and the anglophone populations of the former British colonies of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and various islands of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.
The modern Frisian language is the closest-sounding language to the English used approximately 2,000 years ago, when the people from what is now the north of the Netherlands travelled to what would become England, and pushed the Celtic language—ancestor of modern Welsh— to the western side of the island. Words like "blue" can be recognised ...
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, [1] [2] making it the largest language by number of speakers, the third largest language by number of native speakers and the most widespread language geographically.
The notions of World English and World Englishes are far from similar, although the terms are often mistakenly [citation needed] used interchangeably. World English refers to the English language as a lingua franca used in business, trade, diplomacy and other spheres of global activity, while World Englishes refers to the different varieties of English and English-based creoles developed in ...