We study a foreign language

The total number of languages in the world is about 5000. The most widespread languages are Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian and others. These languages are alive, i.e. they are in use. In addition to these, there are ‘dead’ languages which are no more means of communication. There are old Greek, Latin, and Old Slavonic. There are also a number of artificial or universal or world languages. The world-known artificial language is Esperanto. There are also programming languages that are used in computers. These are specialized languages. English is one of the richest languages and spoken practically all over the world. But the language itself has a long history of development.

The ancient inhabitants of Great Britain were the Celts. The language then was not like the English of today. Only a few their words remained in the language now, spoken by the English people. Then G.B. was occupied by the Romans. The Roman period of British history lasted 465 years. The Romans brought a few Roman words into the English: Street, Lincoln, Doncaster and some other names. Then the Saxons came and settled down in the land they conquered. By and by came other Germanic tribes who settled on different parts of the coast. These Germans were the founders of the English nation. Among these tribes were people called the Angles. When the Angles and Saxons grew into one, they were called Anglo-Saxons or Angles (English). The general name they gave to the country in which they had settled was England. The Saxons as well as the Angles called their speech English.

The Normanns came then. Though the Normanns became the masters of England and the Saxon became their servants, the Saxons didn’t want to speak their language and the Normanns had to learn English to make the English people understand their orders. In this way Anglo-Saxons’ changed a little by the Normanns became real English language of the future, and that’s why the pronunciation of English words differs so much from their spelling. Now English is the mother tongue throughout the continent of North America (the USA and Canada) in the British Isles, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

For a long time English was the most important of the languages of the colonial countries in Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania. English was imposed of the enslaved nations as the only means of communication. With the growth of national liberation movement most of the former British colonies have gained their independence. With the end of the British Empire, English, however, has not lost it’s dominant position in the former colonies. English is also the international language of commerce. It is one of five languages used in the United Nations Organisation. English is studied as a foreign language in our secondary and higher schools.

The study of foreign language gives students tremendous advantages. As the world becomes a global village and interaction within and amongst countries increases, the need for understanding people who speak different languages is growing. Earlier, learning a language was more of a hobby. But today, individuals proficient in more than one language can use it to their advantage, both personally and professionally.