English language Notes

10:58 PM | Filed under , | Posted by Unknown

English is a West Germanic language that developed in England and south-easternScotland during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of theUnited States since the mid 20th century, it has become the lingua franca in many parts of the world, and the most prominent language in international business and science. It is used extensively as a second language and as an official languagein the European Union and many Commonwealth countries, as well as many international organisations.
Historically, English originated from several dialects, now collectively termed Old English, which were brought to the eastern coast of the island of Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers beginning in the 5th century. English was further influenced by the Old Norse language of Viking invaders.
After the time of the Norman conquest, Old English developed into Middle English, borrowing heavily from the Norman-French vocabulary and spelling conventions. The etymology of the word "English" is a derivation from the 12th century Old Englishenglisc from Engle, "[the] Angles".
Modern English developed with the Great Vowel move that began in 15th-century England, and continues to adopt foreign words from a variety of languages, as well as coining new words. A significant number of English words, especially technical words, have been constructed based on roots from Latin and Greek.
Contents
·                     1 Significance
·                     2 History of the English language
·                     3 Classification and related languages
·                     4 Geographical distribution
o                                            4.1 Countries in order of total speakers
o                                            4.2 Countries where English is a major language
o                                            4.3 English as a global language
o                                            4.4 Dialects and regional varieties
o                                            4.5 Constructed varieties of English
·                     5 Phonology
o                                            5.1 Vowels
o                                            5.2 Consonants
§                                                                     5.2.2 Voicing and aspiration
o                                            5.3 Supra-segmental features
§                                                                     5.3.1 Tone groups
§                                                                     5.3.2 Characteristics of intonation—stress
·                     6 Grammar
·                     7 Vocabulary
o                                            7.1 Number of words in English
o                                            7.2 Word origins
§                                                                     7.2.1 Dutch and Low German origins
§                                                                     7.2.2 French origins
·                     8 Writing system
o                                            8.1 Basic sound-letter correspondence
o                                            8.2 Written accents
·                     9 Formal written English
·                     10 Basic and simplified versions
·                      

These Notes are written By Mian Shaan Ali Choudhry
Copyright © 2009-2013 Shaan Science Academy. All Rights Reserved.




Posted by Unknown on 10:58 PM. Filed under , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Feel free to leave a response

0 comments for "English language Notes"

   

Leave a reply