Varieties of English

Varieties of English

English is the official language in 53 countries, and approximately 375 million people speak it as their first language (“English Language”, section 4). English has certainly become the global language, so it is extremely important to anyone involved in international business to know that what they may use as “everyday English” may not be the same as what someone else uses. The English language has such a great history, which dates back to 500 AD, that learning it will help us understand why there are so many varieties of English spoken today.

In the fifth and sixth centuries AD West Germanic invaders settled in the British Isles and they spoke “a mutually intelligible language”, which is what we know as Old English (“History of English”, par 4). From this settlement, four major dialects of English emerged. Old English is responsible for giving us about half of our most commonly used modern English words (“History of English”, par. 6). Following this was the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD which brought new dialects of English, or Middle English. The conquest and invasion of England was made by the Duke of Normandy, who spoke a French dialect with German and Latin influences. This influenced the Old English language spoken during the Duke of Normandy’s reign. Then in 1204 AD the King of France took over Normandy and English was modified yet again. “This mixture of the two languages came to be known as Middle English” (“History of English”, par. 17).

Early Modern English came during the Renaissance with the introduction of Latin and Greek words to the language. There were several major influences that changed the English language, one of which was William Shakespeare. “Many familiar words and phrases were coined or first recorded by Shakespeare, some 2,000 words and countless idioms are his” (“History of English”, par. 21). Examples of the words and idioms he passed on to us are: “critical”, “leapfrog”, “majestic”, “vanish into thin air”, and...