English language
Global lingua franca
English language is the West Germanic tongue that originated in medieval England and spread through British colonization to become the world's most widely used language for international communication, science, business, and diplomacy.
It has absorbed vocabulary from Latin, French, Norse, and countless other sources, resulting in an unusually large lexicon.
English exists in many regional varieties—British, American, Australian, Indian, Nigerian—each with distinct pronunciations, vocabulary, and idioms.
English is her second language.
They're studying English literature.
Pre-Conquest British Germanic peoples
- BeowulfOld English epic's protagonist
- Norman ConquestFrench duke's English takeover
- Great Vowel ShiftHistorical English pronunciation change
- GermanicOf Teutonic language stock
Latin influence · French influence · etymology · Chaucer · King James Bible · printing press · standardization · lexicography
Exchange of spoken ideas
- fluencySmooth linguistic command
- grammarLanguage's structural rules
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
- vocabularyOne's word collection
syntax · semantics · phonetics · articulation · dialogue · expression · comprehension · accent
Of the United Kingdom
- AmericanFrom the U.S.
- AustralianFrom the southern continent
- CanadianNorth American northerner
- IrishOf the Emerald Isle
Scottish · South African · Indian · Singaporean · Nigerian · Jamaican · regional · vernacular
New and unusual
- poetryMetrical literary composition
- proseUnversified language
- fictionImagined narrative work
- nonfictionLiterature about real events
essay · narrative · metaphor · simile · imagery · symbolism · Dickens · Austen
Worldwide economic and cultural integration
- internationalConcerning relations among countries
- businessCommercial activity or occupation
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
- aviationFlying or operating aircraft
tourism · internet · cross-cultural · standardization · global communication · Anglophone · colonial legacy · Commonwealth
Poet of epics
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- sonnetFourteen-line metered poem
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
- iambic pentameterUnstressed-stressed pattern, five feet
folio · quarto · Stratford-upon-Avon · Hamlet · Othello · Macbeth · Romeo and Juliet · The Tempest
Anglo-Saxon
Pre-Conquest British Germanic peoples
- BeowulfOld English epic's protagonist
- Norman ConquestFrench duke's English takeover
- Great Vowel ShiftHistorical English pronunciation change
Germanic · Latin influence · French influence · etymology · Chaucer · King James Bible · printing press · standardization · lexicography
conversation
Exchange of spoken ideas
- fluencySmooth linguistic command
- grammarLanguage's structural rules
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
vocabulary · syntax · semantics · phonetics · articulation · dialogue · expression · comprehension · accent · native speaker
British
Of the United Kingdom
- AmericanFrom the U.S.
- AustralianFrom the southern continent
- CanadianNorth American northerner
Irish · Scottish · South African · Indian · Singaporean · Nigerian · Jamaican · regional · vernacular · pidgin
novel
New and unusual
nonfiction · essay · narrative · metaphor · simile · imagery · symbolism · Dickens · Austen · Chaucer
globalization
Worldwide economic and cultural integration
- internationalConcerning relations among countries
- businessCommercial activity or occupation
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
aviation · tourism · internet · cross-cultural · standardization · global communication · Anglophone · colonial legacy · Commonwealth · widespread
bard
Poet of epics
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- sonnetFourteen-line metered poem
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
iambic pentameter · folio · quarto · Stratford-upon-Avon · Hamlet · Othello · Macbeth · Romeo and Juliet · The Tempest · A Midsummer Night's Dream
- English influencecommon law, parliamentary system, cricket, Shakespeare, BBC
- Commonwealth CultureCommonwealth Games, parliamentary system, Union Jack, royal family, BBC
- AnglophoneAustralia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, UK
- BritainWales, Scotland, London, Northern Ireland, UK
- WesternizationAmericanization, cultural imperialism, globalization, Hollywood, McDonald's
- Anglo-American Relationsspecial relationship, Five Eyes, NATO alliance, Lend-Lease, intelligence sharing
English languageEsperanto
Invented auxiliary tongue
Klingon · Elvish · Dothraki · sign language
English languageendangered languages
Speech nearing extinction
Ainu · minority languages · indigenous languages · Cornish · Manx
language, English, England, anglicize, Englishman, Englishwoman, Englishmen, Englishwomen, Englishness