The English language belongs to the western sub-branch of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The closest living relative of English is either Scots, spoken primarily in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, or Frisian. As Scots is viewed by linguists as either a separate language or else as a group of dialects of English, Frisian rather than Scots is often said to be the next closest. After those are other Germanic languages which are more distantly related, namely the West Germanic languages (Dutch, Afrikaans, Low German, High German), and the North Germanic languages Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese. With the exception of Scots and possibly Frisian, none of these languages is mutually intelligible with English, because of divergences in lexis, syntax, semantics, and phonology.[citation needed]
Lexical differences with the other Germanic languages arise predominantly because of the heavy usage in English of words taken from Latin (for example, "exit", vs. Dutch uitgang) (literally "out-gang" with "gang" as in "gangway") and French ("change" vs. German Änderung, "movement" vs. German Bewegung) (literally "othering" and "be-way-ing" ("proceeding along the way")). The syntax of German and Dutch is also significantly different from English, with different rules for setting up sentences (for example, German Ich habe noch nie etwas auf dem Platz gesehen, vs. English "I have still never seen anything in the square"). Semantics causes a number of false friends between English and its relatives. Phonology differences obscure words which actually are genetically related ("enough" vs. German genug), and sometimes both semantics and phonology are different (German Zeit, "time", is related to English "tide", but the English word has come to mean gravitational effects on the ocean by the moon).[citation needed]
Finally, English has been forming compound words and affixing existing words separately from the other Germanic languages for over 1500 years and has different habits in that regard. For instance, abstract nouns in English may be formed from native words by the suffixes -hood, -ship, -dom and -ness. All of these have cognate suffixes in most or all other Germanic languages, but their usage patterns have diverged, as German "Freiheit" vs. English "freedom" (the suffix -heit being cognate of English -hood, while English -dom is cognate with German -tum).
Many written French words are also intelligible to an English speaker (though pronunciations are often quite different) because English absorbed a large vocabulary from Norman and French, via Anglo-Norman after the Norman Conquest and directly from French in subsequent centuries. As a result, a large portion of English vocabulary is derived from French, with some minor spelling differences (word endings, use of old French spellings, etc.), as well as occasional divergences in meaning of so-called false friends. The pronunciation of most French loanwords in English (with exceptions such as mirage or phrases like coup d’état) has become completely anglicised and follows a typically English pattern of stress.[citation needed] Some North Germanic words also entered English due to the Danish invasion shortly before then (see Danelaw); these include words such as "sky", "window", "egg", and even "they" (and its forms) and "are" (the present plural form of "to be").[citation needed]
Geographical distribution
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Approximately 375 million people speak English as their first language.[21] English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.[22][23] However, when combining native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world, though possibly second to a combination of the Chinese languages (depending on whether or not distinctions in the latter are classified as "languages" or "dialects)".[6][24] Estimates that include second language speakers vary greatly from 470 million to over a billion depending on how literacy or mastery is defined and measured.[25][26] Linguistics professor David Crystal calculates that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1.[27]
The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: United States (215 million),[28] United Kingdom (61 million),[29] Canada (18.2 million),[30] Australia (15.5 million),[31] Ireland (3.8 million),[29] South Africa (3.7 million),[32] and New Zealand (3.0-3.7 million).[33] Countries such as Jamaica and Nigeria also have millions of native speakers of dialect continua 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'). Crystal claims that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world.[34] Following India is the People's Republic of China.[35]
This section provides guidance to volunteer tutors working with children who are learning English, and for whom English is not their first language. These are English Language Learners (ELLs). As a tutor in a school setting you may encounter a range of programs designed to provide instruction to these students such as: Immersion programs, Bilingual programs, or Dual Language programs. While each of these has specific supports designed to help ELL students, none offer the one-on-one attention that you can provide as a tutor.
Have you ever noticed what's in a Twinkie? We suppose you don't really consider such things when popping one in your mouth. And when was the last time you did that, anyway? Well, since eating one seems a little weird, we may opt to make one (and eat it) instead. 
Erin Green spends a lot of time scouring vintage record stores for old comedy albums. When she's not riffling through vinyl, she's writing, producing videos, or reminiscing about the BBQ in San Luis Obispo. She is a Senior Editor at Tonic too.
Comments (2)
reese
posted: Tue May 5, 2009 11:06 PM
i absolutely heart this page!! the pic of the baby licking the big just made me laugh during finals week. a very big deal. *smile*
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steve
posted: Fri May 15, 2009 5:29 PM
Chocolate chips go in my pancakes.
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