What is English?

English is a branch of West Germanic language, which was first used by Britain in the Middle Ages and became the most widely used language in the world because of its huge colony. The Anglo tribe, the ancestor of the British, is one of the Germanic tribes that later moved to the island of Great Britain and were called England. Both names come from Angeria in the Baltic Peninsula. This language is closely related to Frisian and Lower Saxon, and its vocabulary is influenced by other Germanic languages, especially Nordic (North Germanic), which is mainly written in Latin and French.

English has developed 1400 years. The earliest form of English is a group of West Germanic dialects brought to Britain by Anglo-Saxon immigrants in the 5th century A.D., collectively known as Old English. Middle English began at the end of 1 1, and Norman conquered England. 1476, william caxton introduced the printing press to Britain and began to publish the first printed book in London, which expanded the influence of English. Since17th century, modern English has spread all over the world under the extensive influence of Britain and America. Through various print and electronic media in these countries, English has become one of the dominant languages in the world, and languages also occupy a dominant position in many regions and professional environments, such as science, navigation and law.

From the distribution area, English is the most popular language, but the number of native speakers of English is the third in the world, next only to Chinese and Spanish. It is the most widely studied second language, and it is the official language or one of the official languages of nearly 60 sovereign countries. Compared with native English speakers, more people learn English as a second language. It is the mother tongue of Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, and is widely used in the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia. It is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union and many other world and regional international organizations.