SPOTLIGHT: English around the world - history

A History of the English language

Ex. 1: Watch the presentation on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU9pshEkwVE

Ex. 2: Match the word groups to their origins.

	Origins	No.	Word groups
1	Latin (Roman Empire, christianization)		potato, zeitgeist, tortilla, rucksack, tomato, schadenfreude, angst, kindergarten,
2	Celtic languages (pre-Roman British population)		castle, parliament, army, peasant, servant, baptism, duke, court
3	Germanic languages (invasion of the Angles, Saxons, and Frisians)		whisky, trousers, dad, clan
4	Old Norse (Scandinavian Viking settlements)		priest, mass, church, wall, military, wine, belt, monk, arena, angel, altar, bishop, pope, nun,
5	Norman Invasion and Conquest (1066 Battle of Hastings)		skull, husband, skin, window, sky, get, skirt, knife, egg, ill, skill, gate, mistake
6	Loan words from other languages around the world		kangaroo, boomerang, apartheid, pajamas, shampoo, bungalow, turban
7	British Empire/colonization: words coming in from former colonies		water, son, daughter, earth, mouth, brother, nose, child, drink, food, eat, sun, moon, wood, field, house, home, family, eyes

 

KEY Ex. 2: No. -> 6 – 5 – 2 – 1 – 4 – 7 – 3 

How did English become a global language?

Ex. 1: Complete the cloze with words from the box and compare your answers with the key.

bilingual; linguistic; of the status of English; spoke English; the most widespread language; a global language; established English; English speakers; a language of world importance; mother tongue; language of business, technology, sports, and aviation; language

How English became a global language

Nowadays English is recognized as being one of the major languages in the world, and it is probably difficult to believe that this is actually a relatively recent development. In Shakespeare’s time only a few million __________________ (1) and the other nations of Europe considered the _______________ (2) insignificant. Outside Europe it was as good as unknown. So what happened to change the picture so dramatically?

The Empire’s influence on English becoming ___________________ (3)

The most decisive factor in the development _______________________ (4) was the fact that the British Empire, and colonisation generally, ________________________ (5) in all continents of the world. The seventeenth century saw the settlements in North America grow and the enormous growth of the population in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – together with the financial and political strength of the USA – rapidly made English _______________________________ (6)

_______________________ (7) Worldwide

People who speak English fall into one of three groups: those whose _________________ (8) is English; those who have learned it as a second language in a mainly _________________ (9) society; and those who are forced to use it for administrative, professional or educational purposes. One person in seven of the world’s entire population belongs to one of these three groups. Geographically, English is ______________________ (10) on earth, second only to Mandarin Chinese in the number of people who speak it. It is the______________________________ (11). This state of affairs is certain to continue – much to the annoyance of the French, English seems to have won the battle for international _____________________ (12) supremacy!

 

KEY Ex. 1: (1) spoke English; (2) language; (3) a global language; (4) of the status of English; (5) established English; (6) a language of world importance; (7) English speakers; (8) mother tongue; (9) bilingual; (10) the most widespread language; (11) language of business, technology, sports, and aviation; (12) linguistic