|
 "English is
a
West Germanic language that arose in the
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of
England and spread into South-East
Scotland under the influence of the
Anglian
medieval kingdom of
Northumbria. Following the economic, political,
military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence
of
Great Britain and the
United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of the
United States since the mid 20th century, it has been
widely dispersed around the world, become the
leading language of international discourse, and has
acquired use as
lingua franca in many regions. It is widely
learned as a
second language and used as an
official language of the
European Union and many
Commonwealth countries, as well as in many world
organizations. It is the
third most natively spoken language in the world,
after
Mandarin Chinese and
Spanish. Historically, English originated from the
fusion of languages and dialects, now collectively
termed
Old English, which were brought to the eastern coast
of
Great Britain by Germanic (Anglo-Saxon)
settlers beginning in the 5th century – with the word
"English" being derived from the name of the
Angles. The language was further influenced by the
Old Norse language with
Viking invasions in the 8th and 9th century." Source:
Wikipedia |
