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,he English language is a %est -ermanic language that originated in England It is the third most common
.first. language /nati&e spea"ers0! with around 123 million people in 3223 English has lingua franca status
in many parts of the world! due to the military! economic! scientific! political and cultural influence of the
4nited 5ingdom and later the 4nited States %here possi$le! &irtually all students in higher education
worldwide are re)uired to learn some English! and "nowledge of English is &irtually a prere)uisite for
wor"ing in many fields and occupations +ost higher academic institutions! for e#ample! re)uire a wor"ing
command of English
English (English)
Spo"en in: 4nited 5ingdom! 4nited
States and a large num$er of
other countries
Region: +ainly %estern Europe!
6orth America and
Australasia
,otal spea"ers: First language: 123 million
Second language: possi$ly 7'2
million89 $illion
Ran"ing: 7
-enetic
classification:
Indo-European
-ermanic
%est
English
Oicial status
:fficial
language of:
see $elow
Regulated $y: 6one! although the :#ford
English ;ictionary is
important
Language codes
IS: <7=-9 en
IS: <7=-3 eng
SIL E6-
!ontents
9 >istory
3 ?lassification and related languages
7 -eographic distri$ution
79 ;ialects and regional &ariants
73 +a@or regional &ariations
739 Europe
733 ,he Americas
737 :ceania
731 Asia
73' Africa
77 ?onstructed &ariants of English
1 Sounds
19 Aowels
13 ?onsonants
139 *asic sound-letter correspondence
' -rammar
< Aoca$ulary
<9 6um$er of %ords in English
<3 %ord origins
B %riting system
B9 %ritten accents
C See also
= E#ternal lin"s
92 Further reading
DeditE
>istory
+ain article: >istory of the English language
English is descended from the language spo"en $y the -ermanic tri$es /the Frisians! Angles! Sa#ons! and
Futes0 that migrated to the land that would $ecome "nown as England According to the Anglo-Sa#on
?hronicle! around 11= A;! Aortigern! 5ing of the *ritish Isles! issued an in&itation to the .Angle "in.
/Angles! led $y >engest and >orsa0 to help him against the Gicts In return! the Angles were granted lands
in the southeast Further aid was sought! and in response .came men of Ald Sea#um of Anglum of Iotum.
/Sa#ons! Angles! and Futes0 ,he ?hronicle documents the su$se)uent influ# of .settlers. who e&entually
esta$lished se&en "ingdoms: 6orthum$ria! +ercia! East Anglia! 5ent! Esse#! Susse#! and %esse#
,hese -ermanic in&aders dominated the original ?eltic-spea"ing inha$itants! the languages of whom
sur&i&ed largely in Scotland! %ales! ?ornwall! and Ireland ,he dialects spo"en $y these in&aders formed
what would $e called :ld English which was a &ery similar language to modern Frisian which was also
strongly influenced $y yet another -ermanic dialect! :ld 6orse! spo"en $y Ai"ing in&aders who settled
mainly in the 6orth-East /see For&i"0 English! England! and East Anglia are deri&ed from words referring
to the Angles: Englisc! Angelcynn! and Englaland
For the 722 years following the 6orman ?on)uest in 92<<! the 5ings of England spo"e only French A large
num$er of French words were assimilated into :ld English! which also lost most of its inflections! the
result $eing +iddle English Around the year 9'22! the -reat Aowel Shift transformed +iddle English to
+odern English
,he most famous sur&i&ing wor"s from :ld and +iddle English are *eowulf and -eoffrey ?haucer(s ,he
?anter$ury ,ales
+odern English! the language descri$ed $y this article! $egan its rise around the time of %illiam
Sha"espeare Some scholars di&ide early +odern English and late +odern English at around 9C22! in
concert with *ritish con)uest of much of the rest of the world! as the influence of nati&e languages
affected English enormously
DeditE
?lassification and related languages
English $elongs to the western su$-$ranch of the -ermanic $ranch of the Indo-European family of
languages ,he closest undou$ted li&ing relati&es of English are Scots and Frisian Frisian is a language
spo"en $y appro#imately half a million people in the ;utch pro&ince of Friesland /FryslHn0! in near$y areas
of -ermany! and on a few islands in the 6orth Sea
After Scots and Frisian! the ne#t closest relati&e is the modern Low Sa#on language of the eastern
6etherlands and northern -ermany :ther less closely related li&ing languages include ;utch! Afri"aans!
-erman and the Scandina&ian languages +any French words are also intelligi$le to an English spea"er! as
English a$sor$ed a tremendous amount of &oca$ulary from the 6orman language after the 6orman
con)uest and from French in further centuriesI as a result! a su$stantial share of English &oca$ulary is
)uite close to the French! with some minor spelling differences /word endings! use of old French spellings!
etc0! as well as occasional differences in meaning
DeditE
-eographic distri$ution
;istri$ution of nati&e English spea"ers $y dialect
English is the first language in Australia /Australian English0! the *ahamas! *ar$ados /?ari$$ean English0!
*ermuda! ;ominica! -i$raltar! -renada! -uyana! Famaica /Famaican English0! 6ew Jealand /6ew Jealand
English0! Antigua! St Lucia! Saint 5itts and 6e&is! Saint Aincent and the -renadines! ,rinidad and ,o$ago!
the 4nited 5ingdom /*ritish English0 and the 4nited States of America /American English0
English is also one of the primary languages of *eliKe /with Spanish0! ?anada /with French0! India />indi
and English in addition to 39 other state languages0! Ireland /with Irish0! Singapore /with +alay! +andarin!
,amil and other Asian languages0 and South Africa /along with Julu! Lhosa! Afri"aans! and 6orthern
Sotho0 It is the most commonly used unofficial language of Israel
In >ong 5ong it is an official language and is widely used in $usiness acti&ities It is taught from
"indergarten le&el! and is the medium of instruction for a few primary schools! many secondary schools
and all uni&ersities Su$stantial num$er of students ac)uire nati&e-spea"er le&el It is so widely used and
spo"en! that it is inade)uate to say it is merely a second or foreign language
It is an official language! $ut not nati&e! in ?ameroon! Fi@i! the Federated States of +icronesia! -hana!
-am$ia! 5iri$ati! Lesotho! Li$eria! 5enya! 6ami$ia! 6igeria! +alta! the +arshall Islands! Ga"istan! Gapua
6ew -uinea! the Ghilippines! Rwanda! the Solomon Islands! Samoa! Sierra Leone! SwaKiland! ,anKania!
Jam$ia and Jim$a$we
English is the most widely used .second. and .learning. language in the world! and as such! many linguists
$elie&e! it is no longer the e#clusi&e cultural em$lem of .nati&e English spea"ers.! $ut rather a language
that is a$sor$ing aspects of cultures worldwide as it grows in use :thers theorise that there are limits
to how far English can go in suiting e&eryone for communication purposes It is the language most often
studied as a foreign language in Europe /73< percent0! followed $y French! -erman and Spanish It is also
the most studied in Fapan! and in ?hina! where it is compulsory for most high-school students
DeditE
;ialects and regional &ariants
+ain article: List of dialects of the English language
,he e#pansi&eness of the *ritish and the Americans has spread English throughout the glo$e It is now
the second-most spo"en language in the world after +andarin ?hinese As such! it has $red a &ariety of
regional Englishes /generally referred to as English dialects0 and English-$ased creoles and pidgins
,he ma@or &arieties of English may! and in most cases do! contain se&eral su$&arieties! such as ?oc"ney
within *ritish English! 6ewfoundland English within ?anadian English! and African American Aernacular
English /.E$onics.0 within American English English is considered a pluricentric language! with no &ariety
$eing clearly considered the only standard
Some people dispute the status of Scots as a closely related separate language from English and consider
it a group of English dialects Scots has a long tradition as a separate written and spo"en language
Gronunciation! grammar and le#is differ! sometimes su$stantially! from other Anglic &arieties including
Scottish English
;ue to English(s wide use as a second language! English spea"ers can ha&e many different accents! which
may identify the spea"er(s nati&e dialect or language For more distincti&e characteristics of regional
accents! see Regional accents of English spea"ers For more distincti&e characteristics of regional
dialects! see List of dialects of the English language
+any countries around the world ha&e $lended English words and phrases into their e&eryday speech and
refer to the result $y a collo)uial name that implies its $ilingual origins! which parallels the English
language(s own addiction to loan words and $orrowings 6amed e#amples of these ad-hoc constructions!
distinct from pidgin and creole languages! include Engrish! Franglais and Spanglish /See List of dialects of
the English language for a complete list0 Europanto com$ines many languages $ut has an English core
DeditE
+a@or regional &ariations
DeditE
Europe
*ritish English
>i$erno-English
Scottish English
DeditE
,he Americas
American English
?anadian English
?ari$$ean English
Famaican English
6ewfoundland English
Spanglish
DeditE
:ceania
Australian English
6ew Jealand English
DeditE
Asia
>ong 5ong English
Indian English
+anglish
Singlish
Ghilippine English
DeditE
Africa
Li$erian English
South African English
Jim$a$wean English
DeditE
?onstructed &ariants of English
*asic English is simplified for easy international use It is used $y some aircraft manufacturers and other
international $usinesses to write manuals and communicate Some English schools in the Far East teach it
as an initial practical su$set of English
Special English is a simplified &ersion of English used $y the Aoice of America It uses a &oca$ulary of
9'22 words
English reform is a an attempt to collecti&ely impro&e upon the English language
Seaspea" and the related Airspea" and Golicespea"! all $ased on restricted &oca$ularies! were designed $y
Edward Fohnson in the 9=C2s to aid international cooperation and communication in specific areas
DeditE
Sounds
DeditE
Aowels
;iagram of English &owels arranged in the &owel space
I"A #escription $ord
monophthongs
i/i: ?lose front unrounded &owel $ead
6ear-close near-front unrounded &owel $id
:pen-mid front unrounded &owel $ed
6ear-open front unrounded &owel $ad
:pen $ac" rounded &owel $od
9
:pen-mid $ac" rounded &owel pa$ed
3
/: :pen $ac" unrounded &owel $ra
6ear-close near-$ac" rounded &owel good
u/u: ?lose $ac" rounded &owel $ooed
:pen-mid $ac" unrounded &owel $ud
/ :pen-mid central unrounded &owel $ird
7
Schwa Rosa(s
1
?lose central unrounded &owel roses
'
diphthongs
e
?lose-mid front unrounded &owel
?lose front unrounded &owel
$ayed
o/
?lose-mid $ac" rounded &owel
6ear-close near-$ac" rounded &owel
$ode
a
:pen front unrounded &owel
6ear-close near-front rounded &owel
$uy
a
:pen front unrounded &owel
6ear-close near-$ac" rounded &owel
$ough

:pen-mid $ac" rounded &owel

?lose front unrounded &owel
$oy
%otes:
It is the &owels that differ most from region to region
%here sym$ols appear in pairs! the first corresponds to the sounds used in 6orth American English! the
second corresponds to English spo"en elsewhere
1. 6orth American English lac"s this soundI words with this sound are pronounced with // or //
2. +any dialects of 6orth American English don(t ha&e this &owelSee cot-caught merger
3. ,he 6orth American &ariation of this sound is rhotic
4. +any spea"ers of 6orth American English don(t distinguish $etween these two unstressed &owels
For them! roses and Rosa(s are pronounced the same! and the sym$ol usually used is schwa //
5. ,his sound is often transcri$ed with /i/ or with //
DeditE
?onsonants
,his is English(s ?onsonantal System /including dialect sounds0 using IGA sym$ols
&ila&ial la&iodental interdental al'eolar palato(al'eolar palatal 'elar glottal
plosi'e p b t ! "
nasal # $ %
9

lap
3

ricati'e & ' ( )
7
* + ,
1
-
aricate t
appro)imant .
lateral appro)imant /
1. ,he &elar nasal 0%1 is a non-phonemic allophone of MnM in some northerly *ritish accents! appearing
only $efore MgM In all other dialects it is a separate phoneme! although it only occurs in sylla$le
codas
2. ,he al&eolar flap 01 is an allophone of MtM and MdM in unstressed sylla$les in 6orth American
English and increasingly in Australian English ,his is the sound of .tt. or .dd. in the words latter
and ladder! which are homophones in 6orth American English ,his is the same sound represented
$y single .r. in some &arieties of Spanish
3. In some dialects! such as ?oc"ney! the interdentals MNM and MOM are usually merged with MfM and
M&M! and in others! li"e African-American Aernacular English! MOM is merged with MdM In some Irish
&arieties! MNM and MOM $ecome the corresponding dental plosi&es! which then contrast with the
usual al&eolar plosi&es
4. ,he &oiceless &elar fricati&e M#M is used only $y Scottish or %elsh spea"ers of English for
ScotsM-aelic words such as loch //,/ or $y some spea"ers for loanwords from -erman and >e$rew
li"e reich /2a,/ or ?hanu"ah M#anu"aM! or in some dialects such as Scouse /Li&erpool0 where the
affricate D"#E is used instead of M"M in words such as doc"er /!,/ In most spea"ers! the sounds
D"E and DhE are used instead
5. Aoiceless w 01 is found in Scottish! upper-class *ritish! some eastern 4nited States! and 6ew
Jealand accents In all other dialects it is merged with MwM
DeditE
*asic sound-letter correspondence
I"A Alpha&etic representation
p p
$ $
t t! th /rarely used! only in foreign words or some names0
d d
" c /P a! o! u! consonants0! "! ch
g g /initially or finally0! gh! gg
m m
n n
Q ng
ny! ni /when either one is surrounded $y &owels0
dd! tt /this sound in some English dialects0
f f! ph
& &
N th
O th
s s! c /P e! i! y0! ss
K K! s /finally or occasionally medially0
sh! sch! ch! ss /as in mission0! &owelP ti! &owelP ci
s! K /when either one is surrounded $y &owels0
# "h! ch /sound in Scottish English only0
h h /initially! otherwise silent0
t ch
@! g /medially or occasionally initially0
r
@ y /initially or surrounded $y &owels0
l l
l /as in mil"! this sound in most English dialects0
DeditE
-rammar
+ain article: English grammar
English grammar is $ased on that of its -ermanic roots! though some scholars during the 9B22s and 9C22s
attempted to impose Latin grammar upon it! with little success English is a much less inflected language
than most Indo-European languages! placing much grammatical information in au#iliary words and word
order English is a slightly inflected language! retaining features li"e:
Gossessi&e /sometimes called the sa#on geniti&e! $ut which has de&eloped into a clitic0
9 >e is Alfredo(s $est friend -(s
7rd person singular present
9 Alfredo wor"s -s
past tense
9 Alfredo wor"ed -ed
present participleM progressi&e
9 Alfredo is wor"ing -ing
past participle
9 ,he car was stolen -en
3 Alfredo has tal"ed to the police -ed
gerund
9 %or"ing is good for the soul -ing
plural
9 All your sigs are mine -s
comparati&e
9 Alfredo is smarter than Ric"y -er
superlati&e
9 Alfredo has the $luest eyes -est
It must $e noted that! unli"e other -ermanic languages or the Romance languages! English nouns do not
ta"e gender and &er$s can ta"e the .ing. ending >owe&er! despite this relati&e straightforwardness! as
any nati&e spea"er /or those attempting to master it0 "nows! English has its own set of maddening
idiosyncrasies See American and *ritish English differences See also English plural
DeditE
Aoca$ulary
Almost without e#ception! -ermanic words /which include all the $asics such as pronouns and con@unctions0
are shorter! and more informal Latinate words are often regarded as more elegant or educated >owe&er!
the e#cessi&e use of Latinate words is often a sign of either pretentiousness /as in the stereotypical
policeman(s tal" of .apprehending the suspect.0 or o$fuscation /as in a military document which says
.neutraliKe. when it means ."ill.0 -eorge :rwell(s essay Golitics and the English Language gi&es a
thorough treatment of this feature of English
An English-spea"er is often a$le to choose $etween -ermanic and Latinate synonyms: .come. or .arri&e.I
.sight. or .&ision.I .freedom. or .li$erty. ,he richness of the language is that such synonyms ha&e
slightly different meanings! ena$ling the language to $e used in a &ery fle#i$le way to e#press fine
&ariations or shades of thought List of -ermanic and Latinate e)ui&alents
In e&eryday speech the ma@ority of words will normally $e -ermanic If one wishes to ma"e a forceful
point in an argument in a &ery $lunt way! -ermanic words will in&aria$ly $e chosen A ma@ority of Latinate
words /or at least a ma@ority of content words0 will normally $e used in more formal speech and writing!
such as a courtroom or an encyclopedia article
English is noted for the &ast siKe of its acti&e &oca$ulary and its fluidity English easily accepts technical
terms into common usage and imports new words which often come into common usage In addition! slang
pro&ides new meanings for old words In fact this fluidity is so pronounced that a distinction often needs
to $e made $etween formal forms of English and contemporary usage See also sociolinguistics
DeditE
6um$er of %ords in English
,he -lo$al Language +onitor has an up-to-the-minute estimate of the num$er of words in the English
language! and the methodology to arri&e at this estimation ,o read the article $y Gaul FF Gayac" and see
the current estimate! go to ?urrent Estimate of 6um$er of %ords in
English /http:MMwwwlanguagemonitorcomMwstRpageBhtml0
DeditE
%ord origins
+ain article: Lists of English words of international origin
:ne of the conse)uences of the French influence is that the &oca$ulary of English is! to a certain e#tent!
di&ided $etween those words which are -ermanic /mostly Anglo-Sa#on0! and those which are .Latinate.
/Latin-deri&ed! mostly from 6orman French $ut some $orrowed directly from Latin0
A computeriKed sur&ey of a$out C2!222 words in the old Shorter :#ford ;ictionary /7rd edition0 was
pu$lished in :rdered Grofusion $y ,homas Fin"enstaedt and ;ieter %olff /9=B70 which estimated the
origin of English words as follows:
French ! including :ld French and early Anglo-French: 3C7S
Latin! including modern scientific and technical Latin: 3C31S
:ld and +iddle English! :ld 6orse! and ;utch: 3'S
-ree": '73S
6o etymology gi&en: 127S
;eri&ed from proper names: 73CS
All other languages contri$uted less than 9S
Fames ; 6icoll made the oft-)uoted o$ser&ation: .,he pro$lem with defending the purity of the English
language is that English is a$out as pure as a cri$house whore %e don(t @ust $orrow wordsI on occasion!
English has pursued other languages down alleyways to $eat them unconscious and riffle their poc"ets for
new &oca$ulary. D9E /http:MMgroupsgooglecomMgroupsT
selmU9==2+ay9'9''72=CC=3S12watdragonwaterlooeduVoeU4,F-CVoutputUgplain0
DeditE
%riting system
+ain article: English alpha$et
English is written using the Latin alpha$et ,he spelling system or orthography of English is historical! not
phonological ,he spelling of words often di&erges considera$ly from how they are spo"en! and English
spelling is often considered to $e one of the most difficult to learn of any language that uses an alpha$et
See English orthography
DeditE
%ritten accents
English includes some words which can $e written with accent mar"s ,hese words ha&e mostly $een
imported from other languages! usually French *ut it is increasingly rare for writers of English to
actually use the accent mar"s for common words! e&en in &ery formal writing! to the point where actually
writing the accent may $e interpreted as a sign of pretension ,he strongest tendency to retain the
accent is in words that are atypical of English morphology and therefore still percei&ed as slightly foreign
For e#ample! caf has a pronounced final e! which would $e silent $y the normal English pronunciation
rules
Some e#amples: W la carte! XngstrYm! appli)u! attach! $las! $ric-W-$rac! caf! clich! crZme! cr[pe!
derriZre! clair! fa\ade! fianc/e0! flam$! f]hrer! mat! mnage W trois! na^&e! n/e0! papier-mHch! pass!
pi_ata! pi_`n! protg! raison d([tre! rsum! ris)u! saut! sance! ]$er-! &is-W-&is! &oilW
Some words such as rale and hatel were first seen with accents when they were $orrowed into English!
$ut now the accent is almost ne&er used ,he words were considered &ery French $orrowings when first
used in English! e&en accused $y some of $eing foreign phrases used where English alternati&es would
suffice! $ut today their French origin is largely forgotten ,he accent on .lite. has disappeared most of
the time $y today! $ut ,ime +agaKine still uses it
It is also possi$le to use a diaeresis to indicate a sylla$le $rea"! $ut again this is often left out or a
hyphen used instead E#amples: coYperate /or co-operate0! da^s! na^&e! nobl! reblect /or re-elect0
%ritten accents are also used occasionally in poetry and scripts for dramatic performances to indicate
that a certain normally unstressed sylla$le in a word should $e stressed for dramatic effect! or to "eep
with the meter of the poetry ,his use is fre)uently seen in archaic and pseudoarchaic writings with the
-ed suffi#! to indicate that the .e. should $e fully pronounced: ie cursZd
In certain older te#ts /typically in *ritish English0! the use of ligatures is common in words such as
archcology! dsophagus! and encyclopcdia Such words ha&e Latin or -ree" origin
DeditE
See also
List of languages
American and *ritish English differences
;ictionary
either
English as an additional language
English as a lingua franca for Europe
English plural
English declension
English spea"ing Europe
English &er$ con@ugation
Foreign language influences in English
-eneral American
initial-stress-deri&ed noun
Languages in the 4nited States
List of archaic English words and their modern e)ui&alents
List of dialects of the English language
List of unusual English words
List of words commonly mispronounced
Lists of English words of international origin
Literature in English
Longest word in English
+isspelling
6on-nati&e pronunciations of English
non-se#ist language
Recei&ed Gronunciation
Regional accents of English spea"ers
rhotic
singular they
Standard +idwestern
while
Gresent progressi&e tense
Gast progressi&e tense
DeditE
E#ternal lin"s
**? - Learning English /http:MMwww$$ccou"Mworldser&iceMlearningenglishMinde#shtml0
All free English dictionaries /http:MMwwwfdictscomMdictlist9phpT"9U90
Ethnologue report for English /http:MMwwwethnologuecomMshowRlanguageaspTcodeUE6-0
,he %orld(s +ost %idely Spo"en
Languages /http:MMwww3ignatiuseduMfacultyMturnerMlanguageshtm0
?am$ridge ;ictionary /http:MMdictionarycam$ridgeorg0
**? - Radio 1 - Routes of English /http:MMwww$$ccou"Mradio1MroutesofenglishMinde#shtml0
As":#fordcom: -lo$al English /http:MMwwwas"o#fordcomMglo$alenglishMT&iewUu"0
English-English dictionary /http:MMdictdienetM0 - com$ines information from se&eral dictionaries
Aarieties of English and the :E; /http:MMdictionaryoedcomMnewslettersM3229-2<M&arietieshtml0
;e&elopment of English /http:MMwww&eccaMenglishM9Menglishcfm0
Read Grint *oo"s /http:MMwwwreadprintcom0 - includes many pu$lic domain wor"s in classic English
literature
Learning English a$road /http:MMwwwa$roadlanguagescomMalMenglishM0 and online %ith
dictionaries! games! penpals! etc
Learning Aoca$ulary ?an *e Fun /http:MMwww&oca$ularycoil0 Four online! interacti&e games to
help students learn &oca$ulary words >angman! %ord Search! +atch -ame! ,he Aoca$ulary euiK
Learning English :nline /http:MMwwwenglisch-hilfendeMen0 grammar! &oca$ulary! e#ercises! e#ams
- information for learners of English as a foreign language
English -rammar :nline /http:MMwwwego1ucomM0 free e#ercises! e#planations! games and
teaching materials on English as a foreign language
Simplified Spelling Society /http:MMwwwspellingsocietyorgMa$outMa$outhtml0
DeditE
Further reading
,he :#ford ?ompanion to the English Language! ed ,om +cArthur
,he ?am$ridge Encyclopedia of the English Language! $y ;a&id ?rystal
A >istory of the English Language $y Al$ert *augh and , ?a$le /London! 32230
Retrie&ed from .MsearchMencyclopediaMEnglishRlanguageM.
?ategories: English language f Languages of ?anada f Languages of the Ghilippines f -ermanic languages f