The Road to Modern English
At the end of the 16th century,about five to seven million people speak English.Nearly all of them lived in England.In the next century,people from England started moving to other parts of the world,so English began to be spoken in many other countries.Today,more people speak English as their first,second or foreign language than ever before.China may have the largest number of English speakers.
Native English speakers can understand each other even if they don’t speak the same kind of English.However,they may not be able to understand everything.For example,a British person may say to her friends,“Would you please come up to my flat for a visit?” One of her American friends may then ask her,“Come up where?” Her Canadian friend might explain,“She means we should come up to her apartment.”
So why has English changed over time?All language changes when cultures communicate with one another.The English spoken between about 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today.Actually,it was based more on German than present day English.Then from about 1150 to 1500 English change even more.It became less like German,and more like French because those who ruled England at that time spoke French.It became closer to the language you are learning now.In the 1600’s,Shakespeare made use of a wider vocabulary than ever before,one big change in English usage happened Noah Webster wrote the American Dictionary of the English Language,giving American English its own identity.Later,when some British people went to Australia,English began to be spoken there.Now Australian English has its own identity.
English is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia.India has a very large number of English speakers.This is because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947.During that time,English became the language for government and education.English is also spoken in many other countries of Africa and Asia,such as South Africa,Singapore and Malaysia.In China,English has been used in Hong Kong since about 1842.Today the number of people learning English is increasing rapidly..Will Chinese English become one of the world Englishes?Only time will tell.
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