English

English can be referred as anything related to England – a country of United Kingdom. It can be the English language, the English people or English grammar. The word English is used as a surname. People with the family name English use it as their surname. ENGLISH is a programming language. English major is an academic curriculum involving the study of English literature or English writing at a post secondary level. ‘English studies’ is the study of English language and literature. The word English is also used an expression in America for side spin of a ball in sports. It is also used to represent the avoirdupois system of weights.

English language

English is a West Germanic language boasting its origin in Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. The language has been widely spread around the world due to political, economical, military, scientific, cultural and colonial influence of Great Britain, United Kingdom, United States and British Empire. Now English is the leading language in the world and it has acquired lingua franca in many regions all over the world. A language used for communicating ideas between two people other than mother tongue is known as lingua franca. Lingua franca is also known as working language, bridge language or vehicular language. English is learned in many regions all over the world as second language. It is the official language in European Union and common wealth countries and the third most natively spoken language. English originated as a combination of languages and dialects. Some English words have their origin from Latin. This is because Latin is the lingua franca of Christian community and European intellectual life. Old Norse language also influenced English a lot. English language is formed by assimilating various European languages and therefore it contains a very large vocabulary.

English people

The English refers to nation and people whose native is England speaking English. They have early medieval origin. Then they were known as Old English as the Anglecynn. Now England is a country of the United Kingdom. Some English people have forbears from UK while some others have descendants from European countries and Commonwealth. Anglo-Saxons were the first people to be called English. They are closely related to tribes of Germany who had migrated from southern Demark and Northern Germany to east and south Great Britain. The nation of England was formed in 937.  The nation was formed as a result of 'battle of Brunanburh'.

Questions:

• Define English?
• What is lingua franca?