• 2) Give examples of words borrowed by English from other languages.

• 3) Give examples of English words which are now international.

• 4) Simplify the text and talk about the history of the English language.

1.3 The use of English as a global tongue

• 1) Read the text and say which problems are covered in it.

Thalwil, Switzerland. In the tall stucco schoolhouse with its big, airy classrooms and views of Lake Zurich, English has become part of the daily routine.

Pupils as young as seven are learning multiplication or discussing the weather in English. In one classroom, lists of songs that the first grade has already mastered include not only local German tunes but “Old Mc Donald” and “How are you this morning?”

Parents are delighted. “It is something that you need,” said Michael Brophy, whose son, Andrea, goes to the school there. “Everywhere people speak English, not just abroad.”

Throughout Europe, English is growing in use and acceptability. Beyond the schoolhouse here, European universities, particularly in Northern Europe, are giving courses in science, philosophy and business in English. Even some companies like the French telecommunications giant Alcatel now use English as their internal language.

But the growing use of English is not going down easily everywhere. The English program here has caused an uproar in other parts of the country, where critics have questioned why English should be taught before another one of Switzerland’s four national languages. In many places and in many ways, Europe is debating the growing prominence of English.

Some see it as the language that might bind the Continent together. In one European Union survey, 70 percent of those surveyed agreed with the proposition that “everybody should speak English.” But nearly as many said their own language needed to be protected. Capturing the right balance is a subject of debate.

• 2) Express your opinion on the quotation “Everywhere people speak English, not just abroad.”

• 3) Would you like your children to study English at the age of seven, as in Switzerland? Talk about your own language learning experience.

1.4 Geographical distribution of english

• 1) Answer the questions:

a)How many languages are there in the world?

b)Which language has the largest number of speakers?

c)Is English the official language of the USA and the UK?

d)Among the countries where English is spoken as a second language, thePeople’s Republic of Chinahas the biggest number of speakers, doesn’t it?

e)Why is English called “the lingua franca” of the modern era?

f)Which languages are mostly studied in the European Union?

Since 1750, the population of the world has grown rapidly from less than one billion to six billion in 1999. Projected population growth foresees a continuing rise to eight billion in 2027 and reaching about ten billion in 2250. After 2250, it is projected that population growth will stabilize at about ten billion.

Although there are an estimated 7,000 different languages spoken in the world, it is estimated that 50% of the world population speaks one of the top twelve languages as a native language, and one of them is English.

The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: the United States (215 million), the United Kingdom (58 million), Canada (18.2 million), Australia (15.5 million), the Republic of Ireland (3.8 million), South Africa (3.7 million), and New Zealand (3.0-3.7 million). It is interesting to note that English is not a de jure official language of the United States or the United Kingdom; however, these countries use English de facto.

Countries such as Jamaica and Nigeria also have millions of native speakers of dialects ranging from an English-based Creole to a more standard version of English. Of those nations where English is spoken as a second language, India has the most such speakers (“Indian English”). Following India is the People’s Republic of China.

Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a “world language,” the lingua franca of the modern era. English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of schoolchildren), followed by French (32%), German (18%), and Spanish (8%). Among non-English speaking countries, a large percentage of the population claimed to be able to converse in English in the Netherlands (87%), Sweden (85%), Denmark (83%), Luxembourg (66%), Finland (60%), Slovenia (56%), Austria (53%), Belgium (52%), and Germany (51%). Norway and Iceland also have a large majority of competent English-speakers.

English does not have the largest number of native speakers. In 1950, English was clearly in the second place compared with Chinese. Currently, English is spoken as a native language by about as many people as speakers of Spanish and Hindu / Urdu but these numbers are all much smaller than the number of Chinese speakers. Because of differences in population age and population growth, English will very soon be overtaken by Spanish and Hindu / Urdu. By 2050, Arabic may well have replaced English as the fourth most popular native language.