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Why People Speak English Differently
People all over the world speak lots of languages. People in France speak mostly French, people in the U.S. speak mostly English, people in Spain speak mostly Spanish, etc. Some languages however, sound a lot alike and there is a reason for this. There is also a reason why people speak English in slightly different ways. For instance most people who live in the southern parts of the U.S. sound different from people who live in the northern parts of the U.S. This paper will discuss some of the reasons people speak English differently.
The way languages got spread out around the globe happened long ago. For example, suppose an original group of people spoke language A. When the group migrated, suppose half of them went to place 1 and the other half went to place 2. After an amount of time language A would be split up into language B (place 1) and C (place 2.) This happens because of the lack of contact between the two groups. Eventually the original language of both groups differs so much that the language that each group speaks can be classified as two different languages. This is part of the reason why some languages around the world sound similar.
1.5 billion people speak English today; the amazing part about this is that English-speaking countries are spread out all over the world. English is the official language of 42 countries; 1/3 of the world’s population live in a country where English is the official language. English started in one place then its speakers migrated around the world and spread it. The distribution of English around the world is an example of a process where a language is circulated around the world through migration.
The people of England spread English to the U.S. when they migrated to Massachusetts on the Mayflower in the seventeenth century. When England defeated France, the English language was in place to be the main language of North America. The British also gained command of Ireland in the seventeenth century and forced the people there to speak English. The British did not stop there; they took control of South Asia, South Pacific and southern Africa. Recently the U.S. has been responsible for the circulation of English in the Philippines and other places.
People will always communicate through talking as long as we are alive. Old languages are dying and new languages are being created. English just happens to be a language widely used throughout the world. This leads me to believe that since English is so influential it will always be around. The dialects of English are definitely different but it is still the same language. It will be interesting to see if in the next couple hundred years English becomes even more dominant than it is today.