Finnish sauna

Chinese tea, silk

Portuguese marmalade

Eskimo anorak

Czech robot

Farsi lilac

Australian Aborigine kangaroo, boomerang

Modern French rendezvous, caf'e

Modern German kindergarten

Some ‘created’ words:

xerox, to xerox, xeroxed

mackintosh, sandwich, submarine, helicopter, pop, rock’ n roll, x-ray, astronaut, hot dog.

• Give a talk on the history of the English language.

• Discuss with your partner the composition of Modern English vocabulary.

• Speak about the distinguishing features of English.

• Think of more examples of borrowings from different languages.

Millions of people speak English as their first language. About the same number use it as a second language. It is the language of aviation, international sport and pop music. 75% of the world’s mail is in English, 60% of the world’s radio stations broadcast in English and more than half of the world’s periodicals are printed in English. It is the official language in 44 countries. In many others it is the language of business, commerce and technology. There are many varieties of English, but Scottish, Texan, Australian, Indian and Jamaican speakers of English, in spite of the difference in pronunciation, structure and vocabulary, would recognize that they are all speaking the same basic language.

English is regarded as the global language – but will this still be true for the rest of the 21st century? The world in which it is used is going through such huge changes that there is a possibility it will lose its place as the world’s most important language. For example, in the 20th century, western countries helped the spread of English. They were the strongest economies. Now Asian economies are growing in strength and want to promote their own cultures and languages.

Another threat to the English language’s position is old age. Rich countries are getting older – or rather their populations are made up of more old people than young people. In the future young people with money to spend will be found in Asia and Latin America, and they may want to express their desires in their own languages.

There are many possibilities for the future. We can imagine a world where English is simply an alternative language to Chinese or Spanish. These are languages that already have more native speakers (Chinese) or very wide use across the world (Spanish). Geographically, though, English still remains the most widespread language on Earth, second only to Chinese in the number of people who speak it.

• Explain the popularity of the English language today.

• Do you think that English will retain its position as the global language in future? Why/ Why not?

• Write an essay on the history and importance of your native language.

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