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English is a widely distributed language that originated in England. It is currently the primary language of several countries and is extensively used as a second language and as an official language in many other countries. Despite its widespread use, English is not the language most widely spoken by people as their primary language. That honor belongs to Mandarin Chinese, which has more than 800 million native speakers. The number for English is roughly 330 million, which is comparable to the number for Spanish. The number of native speakers of Hindi may also be greater than that of English. English is a Germanic language, which is closely related to German, Dutch and the Scandinavian languages. It was brought to the British islands by Germanic invaders and settlers perhaps as early as the second century A.D., and it eventually mostly replaced the native Celtic languages (which still survive in parts of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Ireland). The similarity to other Germanic languages becomes very obvious to anyone who is literate in one of those languages and who examines text written in Old English (such as Beowulf) or in Middle English (such as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), from which modern English evolved. As is the case with most other languages, there are a number of dialects of English. That is, pronunciation and word usage can vary both among countries and within countries according to regions and social classes. Perhaps the most obvious international difference is between British English and American English. The most distinctive dialectic difference within the U.S. is in the southeastern part of the country, and it is occasionally difficult for newcomers from other regions to understand it. The widespread use of English in many countries and many specialized fields is not due to any inherent superiority of that language. Rather, it is the result of historical factors, particularly the facts that England became the greatest colonial power, with territories around the globe, and that subsequently the U.S. became the dominant military, political and cultural power. Many non-native speakers of English complain that it is an extremely difficult language. They are correct, but they should realize that it is a difficult language even for native speakers, for whom many years of formal education are necessary in order to be able to speak and write it correctly and thus communicate effectively. Large numbers of native speakers of English, particularly in the U.S., have insufficient command of the spoken and written language despite many years of compulsory education, and this severely limits their job opportunities and career prospects. Created October 24, 2006. |