THE BRITISH ISLES

AND

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

IN THE WORLD

THE BRITISH ISLES

NATION AND FLAG

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland

United Kingdom (UK)

NATION CAPITAL FLAG

England London The red cross of St. George on a white field

Scotland Edinburgh The white cross of St. Andrew on a blue field

Wales Cardiff The red dreagon on a white and green field

Northern Ireland Belfast The red cross of St. Patrick (crown, glove, star) on a white field

First British Empire (1583 –1783)

Second British Empire (1783 –1815)

THE UK IN THE WORLD

The British Empire was very big. Now all the countries of the Empire are independent, but they have an organization: The Commonwealth. At their meetings they speak English.

The relative numbers of native English speakers in the major English-speaking countries of the world

English is one of the most spoken languages in the world and by far the most common.English today is probably one of the most largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese, Hindi and Spanish. Combining native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world.It is spoken in every continent.It is the official language in the UK, in Ireland, in the USA, in Canada, in Jamaica and other islands, in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.It is also the second language in more than forty countries which are historically united by economic and political ties to England: from Asia (India and Pakistan) to the countries of the South Pacific and many African states (former British colonies).Nowadays English is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language.

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD

DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPEAK ENGLISH

The English language spread around the world, it isn’t always identical to the one that it is spoken in England. Every language, even in the same country, is enriched with different accents in different regions. In the same way, the English language spoken in Australia, in Canada and in South Africa is very different from the language that it’s spoken in London. Every language evolves, changes when it is spoken by different people in different places. And it changes more rapidly when millions of people use it for working and travelling as nowadays.So we can say that today many varieties of English are spoken in the world.

British English and American English: some examples

ITALY UK USAvacanza holiday vacation

caramella sweet candy

colore colour color

spiaggia seaside beach

autunno autumn fall

pantaloni trousers pants

film film movie

centro centre center

biscotto biscuit cookie

negozio shop store

bambino child kid

patatine chips french fries

gomma rubber eraser

appartamento flat apartment

FALSE FRIENDSFalse friends are two words (from two different languages) that look similar or the same, but have different meanings. There are many false friends between English and Italian, here are the most common:

brave = coraggioso, good / clever = bravo

canteen = mensa, cellar = cantina

camera = macchina fotografica, room = camera

cold = freddo, hot = caldo

fabric = tessuto, factory = fabbrica

factory = fabbrica, farm = fattoria

frizzy = crespo, sparkling = frizzante

grass = erba, fat = grasso

horse = cavallo, bear = orso

library = biblioteca, bookshop/ bookstore (USA) = libreria

parent = genitore, relative = parente

pavement = marciapiede, floor = pavimento

polite = educato, clean = pulito

vacancy = vuoto / posto vacante, vacation (USA) = vacanza

A traditional Irish song we like very much!We learnt it by studying the British Isles.

Molly Malone

In Dublins fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,

As she wheeled her wheelbarrow, Through streets broad and narrow,

Cryng “Cockles and mussels alive, alive-O!”

Chorus

Alive, alive-O! Alive, alive-O!

Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!”

She wheeled her wheelbarrow Through streets broad and narrow, Just like her mother and father before And they wheeled their wheel barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow, Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!”

My love had a fever and no one could save her, And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone,

But her ghost wheels her barrow Through streets broad and narrow

Crying “Cockles and mussels alive, alive-O”