The chronological division of the history of English.

The history of E. covers the period of over 16 centuries. The most widely spread point of view was excepted by Henry Sweet(1845-1912)-was the author of a number of works on the E. lang. He proposed the division of history of E. according to the state of unstressed endings:

1 period: Old English-the period of full endings (any vowel could be met in an unstressed ending): sunu, mona.

It lasted from 5 c. to 1100 year. It is the time when Anglo-Saxons invaded Br. The end of the period is close to the time of Norman Conquest. The earliest writing in E. belongs to 700AD.

4 principle dialects were spoken in Anglo-Saxon England: 1) Kentish(the speech of Jutes), West Saxon(South of the river Thames), Mercian(from Thames to the Hamber, exclusive of Wales), Northumbrian

2 period: Middle English(1100-1500)-the period of leveled endings(vowels in unstressed endings have been leveled to the neutral (э)»letter ‘e’: mone, sune).

The most important events were the Roman conquest and influence of the French; introduction of printing(1475) by W.Caxton; the end of the War of Roses(1485); decay of feudalism and beginning of manufacturing.

3 period: Modern English-the period of lost endings: moon, sun.

Early modern E.(1500-1660) and Late modern E. (since 1660)

This division is based on both features: ­­--phonetic(weakening and loss of unstressed vowel sounds), -- morphological(weakening and loss of grammatical morphemes).

4. The English speaking world, varieties of English.

Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "global language''. While English is not an official language in many countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a second language around the world. It is also, by international treaty, the official language for aircraft/airport and maritime communication, as well as being one of the official languages of both the European Union and the United Nations, and of most international athletic organizations, including the Olympic Committee. Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world. English is also the most commonly used language in the sciences.

Although the language is named after England, the United States now has more first-language English speakers than the rest of the world combined. The United Kingdom comes second, with England indeed having as many English speakers as the rest of the world combined (aside from the USA). Canada is third, and Australia fourth, with those four comprising 95% of native English speakers. Of those nations where English is spoken as a second language, India has the most such speakers ('Indian English') and now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country. Following India are the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Germany and the United States (by way of immigrant communities and other enclaves in which English is necessary for communication with their English-speaking countrymen).

English is currently the 2nd most commonly spoken language in the world. It has over 500 million speakers. It is behind only Mandarin, which has over 1 billion speakers. English is today the third most widely distributed language as a first spoken language in the world, after Mandarin and Hindi. Something around 600 million people use the various dialects of English regularly. About 377 million people use one of the versions of English as their mother tongue, and a similar number of people use one of them as their second or foreign language as well.

In each English speaking country there are usually many different accents and dialects. Accent refers to the way a language is spoken- Most foreign speakers of English have accents which are influenced by their first language. Native speakers may have an accent associated with the region they come from. Accent includes both pronunciation and intonation. Each regional accent has its own mixture of sounds and intonation. The way in which individuals speak is also influenced by other factors, such as social background, age and level of education, and whether they have moved away from their home area.

The terms variety and dialect overlap. A varies may be a form of English associated with a group of people, e.g. Black English, with a particular region, e.g. British English and American English, or with an activity or function, e.g. legal English. A dialect is a variety that is usually associated with a geographical region. Dialects have a distinctive vocabulary and grammar, and when people speak in dialect they use an associated local accent. The word variety usually arouses fewer emotions than dialect. This is because dialects are often considered inferior to standard forms of English. In Britain, people may assume that somebody speaking in dialect has a lower-class back-ground or has had little education. In the US, a dialect suggests where a person comes from but not their social status.

In Britain some dialects differ greatly from standard English, but many dialect speakers use standard English when speaking to people from another region.

The accent called Received Pronunciation has been the one most closely associated in the past with educated speakers and is still used as a standard for foreign learners of English. RP, is the accent that is widely accepted as the standard accent for both native and foreign speakers of British English. Although only about 5 % of British people speak with an RP accent, it is considered the correct form of speech. Pronunciations given in most dictionaries are RP, or an adapted form of it.

RP is a social accent not linked to any particular region of Britain, though it developed originally from the form of Middle English spoken around London. RP was spread among children of the upper and upper middle classes through the public school system. Others took elocution lessons in order to learn to speak 'properly'. Later, RP was taught in state schools. The public school accent and the Oxford accent, the accent adopted by some members of Oxford University, which many former public school pupils attended, are now considered by many to be rather artificial.

The RP spoken by members of the upper class, including the royal family, is called advanced RP or marked RP.

The status of RP was strengthened in the 1920s after the BBC began radio broadcasts. For a long time announcers spoke with RP accents, and the accent became known as the BBC accent. Standard English, the form of English grammar considered correct, is, when spoken with an RP accent, sometimes called BBC English, Oxford English, or the Queen's/King's English.

Regional dialect: A regional dialect is not a distinct language but a variety of a language spoken in a particular area of a country. Some regional dialects have been given traditional names which mark them out as being significantly different from standard varieties spoken in the same place. Some examples are "Hillbilly English" (from the Appalachians in the USA) and "Geordie" (from Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK).

Minority dialect: Sometimes members of a particular minority ethnic group have their own variety which they use as a marker of identity, usually alongside a standard variety. This is called a minority dialect. Examples are African American Vernacular English in the USA, London Jamaican in Britain, and Aboriginal English in Australia.

Indigenized variety: Indigenized varieties are spoken mainly as second languages in ex-colonies with multilingual populations. The differences from the standard variety may be linked to English proficiency, or may be part of a range of varieties used to express identity. For example, "Singlish" (spoken in Singapore) is a variety very different from standard English, and there are many other varieties of English used in India.