History and evolution of the English Language

History of English

• History of English in 10 Minutes
• Interactive timeline of the history of English
• How do we Study Language Evolution
• Language Change in English
• Language and Definitions

Conversion

• Verbing
• Language Change in English
• Language and Definitions

Language Change and Specialisation

• English As An Asian Language
• Saami Language

British or American English?

• Common differences between British and American English
• Confounding Discrepancies
• Spelling Differences
• Americans are Ruining English

The State of English Today

The British government are encouraging people to actively learn foreign languages, reasoning this will help them find employment in times of economic crisis. Does this then signify the end of the global English dominance? Arguably not, as at the same time the governmental decision is to make second language learning in schools optional. This sends the clear message that English is the only necessary language. What an interesting contradiction.

Reading:

• Language learning to end recession
• English is All We Need

Assignment: Write a comparative analysis of the two texts. Explore how they are constructed to achieve their purpose and how they use language and style to target the audience. When you have written your own analysis, read the sample analysis below.