More people/ are trying to learn English/ than any other language/ in the world. English/ is the language/ of political negotiations/ and international business. It has become the international language/ of science and medicine. International treaties say/ passenger airplane pilots/ must speak English.

English/ is the major foreign language/ taught in most schools/ in South America and Europe. School children/ in the Philippines and Japan/ begin learning English/ at an early age. English/ is the official language/ of more than seventy-five countries/ including Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, and South Africa.

In countries/ where many different languages/ are spoken, English/ is often used/ as an official language/ to help people/ communicate. India/ is good example. English/ is the common language/ in this country/ where at least twenty-four languages/ are spoken/ by more than one million people.

Where did the English language/ come from? Why has it/ become so popular? To answer these questions/ we must travel back/ in time/ about five thousand years/ to an area north of the Black Sea/ in southeastern Europe.

Experts say/ the people/ in that area/ spoke a language/ called Proto-Indo-European. That language/ is no longer spoken. Researchers/ do not really know/ what it sounded like.

Yet, Proto-Indo-European/ is believed to be the ancestor/ of most European languages. These include the languages/ that became ancient Greek, ancient German and the ancient Latin.

Latin disappeared/ as a spoken language. Yet/ it left behind/ three great languages/ that became modern Spanish, French and Italian. Ancient German/ became Dutch, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish/ and one of the languages/ that developed into English.

The English language/ is a result/ of the invasions of the island of Britain/ over many hundreds of years. The invaders/ lived along the northern coast/ of Europe.

The first invasions/ were by a people called/ Angles/ about one thousand five hundred years ago. The Angles/ were a German tribe/ who crossed the English Channel. Later/ two more groups/ crossed to Britain. They were the Saxons and the Jutes. These groups/ found a people/ called the Celts, who had lived in Britain/ for many thousands of years. The Celts and the invaders/ fought.

After a while, most of the Celts/ were killed, or made slaves. Some/ escaped to live/ in the area/ that became Wales. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes/ mixed their different languages. The result/ is what is called Anglo-Saxon or Old English. Old English/ is extremely difficult/ to understand. Only a few experts/ can read this earliest form/ of English.

Several written works/ have survived/ from the Old English period. Perhaps/ the most famous/ is called Beowulf. It is the oldest known English poem. Experts say/ it was written/ in Britain/ more than one thousand years ago. The name of the person/ who wrote it/ is not known.

Beowulf/ is the story of a great king/ who fought against monsters. He was a good king, well liked by his people. A new book/ by Seamus Heaney/ tells this ancient story/ in modern English. Listen/ as Warren Scheer reads the beginning/ of this ancient story.

So. The Spear-Danes/ in days gone by
and the kings/ who ruled them/ had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.

There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker/ of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.
This terror/ of the hall-troops/ had come far.

A foundling/ to start with, he would flourish/ later on
as his powers/ waxed and his worth/ was proved,
In the end/ each clan/ on the outlying coasts/
beyond the whale-road/ had to yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.

The next great invasion/ of Britain/ came from the far north/ beginning about one thousand one hundred years ago. Fierce people/ called Vikings/ raided the coast areas/ of Britain. The Vikings/ came from Denmark, Norway and other northern countries. They were looking to capture trade goods and slaves/ and take away anything of value.

In some areas, the Vikings/ became so powerful/ they built temporary bases. These temporary bases/ sometimes became permanent. Later, many Vikings/ stayed in Britain. Many English words/ used today/ come from these ancient Vikings. Words/ like “sky,” “leg,” “skull,” “egg,” “crawl,” “ lift” and “take”/ are from the old languages/ of the far northern countries.

The next invasion/ of Britain/ took place/ more than nine hundred years ago, in ten sixty-six. History experts/ call this invasion/ the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror/ led it.

The Normans/ were a French-speaking people/ from Normandy/ in the north of France. They became the new rulers/ of Britain. These new rulers/ spoke only French/ for several hundred years. It was the most important language/ in the world/ at that time. It was the language/ of educated people. But the common people/ of Britain/ still spoke Old English.

Old English/ took many words/ from the Norman French. Some of these/ include “damage,” “prison,” and “marriage.” Most English words/ that describe law and government/ come from Norman French. Words/ such as “jury,” “parliament,” and “justice.”

The French language/ used by the Norman rulers/ greatly changed the way/ English was spoken/ by eight hundred years ago. English/ became what language experts call/ Middle English. As time passed, the ruling Normans/ no longer spoke true French. Their language/ had become a mix/ of French and Middle English.

Middle English/ sounds like modern English. But it is very difficult/ to understand now. Many written works/ from this period/ have survived. Perhaps/ the most famous/ was written/ by Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet/ who lived in London/ and died there/ in fourteen hundred. Chaucer’s most famous work/ is “The Canterbury Tales,” written more than six hundred years ago.

“The Canterbury Tales”/ is a collection/ of poems/ about different people/ traveling to the town of Canterbury. Listen/ for a few moments/ as Warren Scheer/ reads the beginning/ of Chaucer’s famous “Canterbury Tales.”

Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

Now listen as Mister Scheer/ reads the same sentences/ again, but this time/ in Modern English.

When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;

When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun

English language experts say/ Geoffrey Chaucer/ was the first important writer/ to use the English language. They also agree/ that Chaucer’s great Middle English poem/ gives us/ a clear picture/ of the people/ of his time.

Some of the people/ described in “The Canterbury Tales”/ are wise and brave; some/ are stupid and foolish. Some believe/ they are extremely important. Some/ are very nice, others/ are mean. But they/ all still seem real.

The history/ of the English language/ continues/ as Middle English becomes Modern English, which is spoken today.