Yury Vinogray, tutor, head of courses, Moscow

Today, English is one of the most important languages ​​in the world. It is not the leader in terms of the number of native speakers (the first places are occupied by the Mandarin (Chinese) and Hindi languages, which is not surprising, given the size of the population in India and China), but it is certainly the most important in international relations, in science, medicine, education, business. The rapidly "shrinking" and globalizing world was in dire need of a universal means of communication between people, business structures and states - and for many historical reasons, it was the English language that became such a means.

Let us briefly consider all the prerequisites for the acquisition by the English language of its current international status.

1. Historical. Active colonialism during the Age of Discovery and Enlightenment unusually expanded the territory of the British Empire (“the country on which the sun does not set”, as it was called then - because the possessions of the British Crown were located in almost all time zones of the planet). It is only natural that English became the official language for British governorships. By the time of the final disappearance of the British Empire in the 20th century, the language was so deeply rooted in the former colonies that there was no reason to change its status. In addition, the need for diplomatic relations with such a powerful neighbor forced other European powers to also learn English.
2. Technological. Most modern developments in technology (in particular, communications) originated in the English-speaking United States and are covered by US patents. For example, the Internet, which has penetrated into our daily life, grew out of the military developments of the US Army, which later found application for scientific purposes and in the civilian communications market.
3. Informational. A huge number of scientific publications, fiction, films and music have been produced in English. All major universities, film companies, music labels are located and registered in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The main news agencies use primarily English in their work.
4. Linguistic. English, despite its richness, is quite easy to learn. In addition, now in the world there is a significant simplification of the language in communication between its non-native speakers. The so-called pidgin English is the product of this process.

At the moment, there is no aggressive expansion of the English language in the world, but due to the reasons described above, it continues to spread in a natural way.

It is difficult to imagine the modern world without the English language. Today it is one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world. It is spoken not only by residents of the UK and the USA, New Zealand and Australia. It is also one of the official languages ​​of Ireland, Canada, Liberia, Belize, Malta, and it is also used as an official language in India, Pakistan, the Philippines and others.

The spread of English in the world

The spread of the English language in the world is inextricably linked with the strengthening of the political and economic influence of English-speaking countries throughout history. The beginning of the process of spreading the English language on a global scale was laid by Great Britain. This was not done on purpose. A small country in terms of territory just started acquiring new lands for the “crown”. As a result of violent political activity, the English language penetrated into Asia, Africa, Australia and the New World. After the acquisition of economic and political independence, the United States joined the process of spreading the English language in the world. And especially purposefully and actively propaganda of the English language began to be carried out after the Second World War.

Today, English is one of the official languages ​​of many international organizations: the UN, NATO, UNESCO. It is also the language of business and science. Various international conferences, competitions, sports competitions are held in English. In addition, the popularity of English can also be attributed to the fact that it is the language of the tourism sector. People planning a trip abroad and speaking English are almost always sure that they will not experience difficulties in communicating with the local population. The invention of the Internet in the United States also contributed to the strengthening of the position of the English language in the world. More than 80% of the sites on the Internet exist in English, and communication between people from different countries on the World Wide Web is also in English.

The language picture in the world directly depends on the demographic situation, and soon other languages ​​​​may enter the world stage. For example, this role is predicted for the Spanish language. But, according to recent philological studies, English in the world will only strengthen its position in the near future, remaining, above all, an international means of communication.

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Throughout the history of mankind, there have been several international languages, but none has yet reached such popularity as English. Today, English is the main intermediary language and global means of communication that unites people around the world. In terms of the number of speakers, English is second only to Chinese and Hindi. It is not surprising, given the size of the population of India and China. English differs from them in its universality. It has received a wide geographical distribution, which allowed it to become the main one in such areas of international relations as business, politics, science, medicine, education, trade and tourism. Even an elementary level of English allows a person to understand and be understood by people in most countries of the world. As the most taught, it is studied in schools in China, France, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and others. In terms of the number of people who know English, Holland is in first place. In Japan, students are required to study it on a mandatory basis for six years, until graduation from high school. 85% of pupils in France, having the choice between the compulsory study of French and English, choose the latter. In Hong Kong, 90% of secondary schools teach English. It is spoken in more than 90 countries around the world, and every day the influence and popularity of the English language is becoming stronger.

Prerequisites for the formation of English as an international language

What is the reason for such an active spread of the English language? There are a lot of such prerequisites, we propose to focus on the most important ones.

• historical

The colonial policy of Great Britain contributed to the establishment of the English language in many lands, in particular Australia, Asia, Africa, and the New World. After the emergence of the United States, which picked up the baton of the spread of English, its influence was strengthened. For American citizens, it has become a second language. In this, the United States is only ahead of China, where about 1 billion 349 million people speak English.

• Linguistic

The uniqueness of English largely lies in the rich history of its development. Over the centuries, being originally Celtic, it interacted with French and Scandinavian, Germanic dialects and Latin. According to many scientists, it is its flexibility and ability to change under the influence of external influences that contributes to its popularity and wide distribution.

• Information Technology

Almost all of the most advanced and innovative technologies come from the United States, which directly affected the spread of English around the world. Thanks to the books of the Canadian philologist Marshall McLuhan, the expression "Global Village" came into use. Initially, it meant the Internet, but later it began to mean the entire globe. The author suggested that thanks to electronic technology, our world will shrink to the size of a village - and he turned out to be right. A huge amount of easily accessible information, the speed of its exchange, the openness of the information space unites people and contributes to the formation of a new structure of society.

One of the features of the functioning of the English language is its use as a national, state and official literary language not by one, but by many nations. Today, researchers estimate that the number of English speakers ranges between 1.2 and 1.5 billion people. These figures include those for whom English is their native language (native language), second language (ESL) and foreign language (EFL).

Since the 60s of the XX century. the spread of the English language has become very wide.

Some countries initially used it as a means of interethnic communication, then the language gradually changed and became native to the population. Thus, the British version of the English language laid the foundation for the American version, and then the Australian and South African. In the XX century. developed Nigerian, Indian, Singaporean varieties and numerous new varieties of English (New Englishes).

English is widely spoken in the world, wider than French, German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic, used as a means of international communication. English is the most widely used language on earth. It is used as a native, second and foreign language.

English has a special place in seventy-five countries of the world. In nineteen countries it is the official language.

English is taught as a foreign language in more than 100 countries, including China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Egypt and Brazil. In most countries, it is taught at school as the main foreign language, replacing other foreign languages.

It would be erroneous to assume that a certain “international” language is a model of perfection due to its undeniable functional properties, clarity of presentation, and rich literary heritage. Similar judgments are sometimes made in relation to the English language. Undoubtedly, the simplicity of the language contributes greatly to its promotion, but in no way is the basis of this process.

The structure of the English language is somewhat simpler than that of some other world languages. Throughout the history of its development, it borrowed extensively from other languages ​​with which it was in contact.

English is one of the official languages ​​of the United Nations, UNESCO, the World Health Organization (WHO), the official and working language of many international meetings of organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Council, NATO. English is the only official language of the Organization of Petroleum Expert Countries, the only working language of the European Free Trade Association EFTA (European Free Trade Association). Today there is a radical change in the language situation in the world. Never in the past have so many countries and peoples experienced such a need to communicate with each other. Never before have so many people been able to travel around the world. Never before has such a volume of interpretation and translation been required, nor has there been such a need for a wider development of bilingualism.

The spread of the English language in the modern world is reflected in the sociolinguistic theory of "three concentric rings", developed by the American linguist Braj Kachru. He presented the results of this process in the form of three circles located one inside the other: 1) the inner circle corresponds to English as a mother tongue; 2) the outer, middle circle implies knowledge of English as a second language in countries where it has received the status of an official language; 3) an expanding, outer circle includes countries where English plays the role of the main foreign language studied in educational institutions. The number of these countries is steadily increasing.

The boundaries between these circles, especially between the outer, middle and expanding, outer, are very mobile and unstable. At the suggestion of linguists, in the near future the largest number of users of the English language will be in the middle circle, although at present the number of people representing it is the smallest.

Introduction

As you know, English is spoken not only in England, but also abroad. It is the official language in many countries of the world. At the same time, the English language of each state has its own characteristics, its own distinctive features, which were formed in the course of historical development, as a result of the influence of the languages ​​of neighboring countries, as well as the language of the indigenous population.

This course work is devoted to the study of the main variants of the English language. At first glance, it may seem the same, but upon closer examination, you can find a large number of features that are characteristic only for these varieties of English.

All of the above explains relevance our work.

Object of study in this work is English.

Subject research is the variants of the English language in all its diversity.

The purpose of the study is to identify the features that characterize the varieties of the English language.

For this, the following tasks:

Consider the features of the main variants of the English language;

Identify phonetic, grammatical and lexical features of each of the most famous variants of the English language.

The course work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.

English Grammar Phonetic Canadian

English is one of the languages ​​of international communication

The spread of English in the world

One of the features of the functioning of the English language is its use as the state language not by one, but by many nations.

Along with some other languages ​​of the world, such as French in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, a number of developing countries; Spanish in Spain and some Latin American countries; German in Germany, Austria, Switzerland; Portuguese in Portugal and Brazil; Italian in Italy and Switzerland; Swedish in Sweden and Finland; English in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, a number of developing countries in Asia and Africa, former colonies of Great Britain, belongs to multinational and multiethnic languages, belongs to not one, but several nations, not one, but several ethnic groups.

It is customary to distinguish three periods in the history of the spread of the English language (Crystal, 2001:104).

The first period is earlier than the Middle Ages, when the influence of French and some other languages ​​on English was so significant that in a relatively short period of time it became more Romance than Germanic.

The second period is the Renaissance and the years that followed it, when English became interested in a large amount of vocabulary from classical languages ​​and the work of a number of playwrights, primarily Shakespeare, significantly enriched it.

The third period - the end of the second millennium - the beginning of the new millennium.

Since the 60s of the XX century. the spread of the English language has become very widespread.

Some countries initially used it as a means of interethnic means, then the language gradually changed and became native to the population. Thus, the British version of the English language laid the foundation for the American version, and then the Australian and South African. In the twentieth century developed Nigerian, Indian, Singaporean varieties and numerous new varieties of English (New Englishes). Some linguists suggest that this situation may indicate the development of a new language family (Evdokimov, 2003:206).

English has a special place in seventy-five countries of the world. In nineteen countries it is the official language. It is taught as a foreign language in more than 100 countries. In most countries, English is taught in schools as the main foreign language.

In the 19th century Great Britain became the leading industrial and commercial power. Throughout the 19th century The British political system contributed to the spread of the English language throughout the globe. And in the twentieth century. this process accelerated primarily due to the economic power of the United States (Arakin, 2001:302).

English is one of the official languages ​​of the UN, UNESCO, the World Health Organization (WHO), the official and working language of many international meetings of organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Council, NATO. English is the only official language of the Organization of Petroleum Expert Countries, the only working language of the European Free Trade Association EFTA (European Free Trade Association).

Today there is a radical change in the language situation in the world. Never in the past have so many countries and peoples experienced such a need to communicate with each other. Never before have so many people been able to travel around the world. Never before has such a volume of interpretation and translation been required, nor has there been such a need for a wider development of bilingualism.

In the modern world, English performs the functions of an international language. Over the past decades, English has become an international means of communication, has acquired the status of "global language" (global language).

In reality, the term "international English" most often refers only to British and American varieties of English, to a lesser extent with Canadian and Australian varieties, and usually does not apply to other regional varieties (Antrushina, 1999:27).

The definition of English adopted in Russian linguistics as a multi-ethnic, or multi-national, reflects not so much its functional role as ethnographic distribution, assignment to different ethnic groups, which is the result of its function as the language of international communication.

One of the criteria for the international status of a language is considered to be a large number of functions it performs: its recognition as a state or official language in a country where it functions in such areas as administration, courts, the media, and the educational system (Koptelova, 2000: 33 ).

English in the modern world has become an "additional" language for a number of peoples, and this status of it is manifested in the expansion of functioning, the increase in intercultural areas of use, in the deepening of social use.

"The main functions of English as an international language, or areas of its use, can be summarized as follows:

1) official-diplomatic;

2) official state regulation;

3) official business (in business, trade, transport, communications);

4) educational;

5) informational (in science, mass media, the Internet, sports, medicine, etc.);

6) entertainment (film and video production, pop music);

As an international language, English is no longer tied to one particular culture or nation. The development of the English language in the modern world is less and less determined by the people for whom it is their native language. This is precisely the "pluricentricity of the English language, recognized by modern sociolinguistics. Duocentricity (British English and American English as two centers of linguistic hegemony) was replaced by pluricentricity, which led to the creation of the concepts of many varieties of English (World Englishes)" (Crystal, 2001: 98) .

As an intermediary language in the modern world, English plays the role of a language of intercultural interaction and enrichment. This is largely due to the fact that since ancient times, the English language has shown a tendency to borrow vocabulary. It has the ability to easily and easily accept borrowings coming from other languages ​​as well as through the English language of the Caribbean, India and Spanish-speaking America. Due to the emergence of a large number of so-called new variants of the English language in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Caribbean, within the UK itself (in Ireland, Scotland, Wales), as well as in India, Sri Lanka and others countries, the process of "nativization" is intensifying (Kristall, 2001:101). Nativization refers to the process of language change under the influence of local languages. At the same time, new types of English are being formed and the forms and structures of the so-called "standard" version of the English language are changing. New varieties of English are something like dialects. However, unlike dialects that exist regionally and have thousands of users, new language variants exist internationally and have millions of users.