- [uncountable, countable]
the language, originally of England, now spoken in many other countries and used as a language of international communication throughout the world 英语；英文 She speaks good English. 她英语说得很好。 I need to improve my English. 我需要提高我的英语水平。 world Englishes 世界各地的英语 They taught conversational English to a group of Japanese students. 他们教一群日本学生会话英语。
Culture World EnglishWorld EnglishEnglish is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is the first language, or mother tongue, of over 350 million people living in countries such as Britain, Ireland, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, and it is spoken as a second language by many millions in countries where English is an official language. English is learned by many more people worldwide as a foreign language. English has many regional varieties such as South African English and Indian English and has also developed as a global language or international language, used as a lingua franca (shared language), sometimes called ELF (= English as a Lingua Franca) between people for whom it is not a first language. It is estimated that now only one out of every four users of the language speaks English as their first language.English has achieved the status of a world language over a long period of time, and for various historical and cultural reasons. In the 17th century English was spread by people going from Britain to live in America, and in the 18th and 19th centuries by the growth of the British Empire. Many countries which were part of the empire kept English as their official language after they became independent because there were several local languages. As an official language, English is generally used in government, public administration and the law, and children may be taught in English. Since the middle of the 20th century, English has been an official language of international organizations such as the United Nations.Economic factors are also important. Britain and the US are both major business and financial centres, and many companies that now operate in several countries started in Britain or the US. Elsewhere, a knowledge of English is often seen as necessary for success in business, and in countries which have many tourists.Advances in technology and telecommunications have also helped to establish English as a global language. Many inventions important to modern life, for example, electricity, radio and the telephone, were developed in Britain or the US. English became the language for international communications in air traffic control and shipping. Now, major computer systems and software developers are based in the US, and English is one of the main languages used on the internet.Britain and the US have invested in the development of English Language Teaching (ELT). The British Council has offices across the world which promote British culture and support the teaching of English. The United States also has libraries and cultural programmes in many countries. The English language broadcasts of the BBC World Service, Voice of America and other services are widely popular, and many people listen to the news broadcasts in order to get news about events in their own country. The BBC and Voice of America also broadcast programmes for people who are learning English.As an international language, English continues to develop. People who speak English as a first or second language have their own variety of the language, and each variety continues to change. There are many differences, for instance, between British English and American English, and between Australian, South African, Indian, African and Jamaican English, though all can be understood, more or less, by speakers of other varieties. People who are learning English learn one of the major varieties, usually British or American English, or a variety of international English. As a global language, English can no longer be thought of as belonging only to British or American people, or to anyone else. As the number of people using English as a second or foreign language is increasing faster than the number who speak it as a first language, further movement away from a British or American standard is likely.The status of English as a global language has meant that fewer British and American people are learning foreign languages, with the number of students choosing to study foreign languages at university falling every year.Topics Languagea1Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- plain
- spoken
- written
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- [uncountable]
English language or literature as a subject of study （作为一门学科的）英语语言文学；英语学科 - the English[plural]
the people of England (sometimes wrongly used to mean the British, including the Scots, the Welsh and the Northern Irish) 英格兰人（有时误用以指包括苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰人在内的英国人）
Word OriginOld English Englisc (from Angle, a Germanic people who came to England in 5th century AD + -ish). The word originally denoted the early Germanic settlers of Britain (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes), or their language (now called Old English).
Idioms
in plain English
simply and clearly expressed, without using technical language 用平白的言语（或文字） a document written in plain English 用简单英语写的文件 If you could put it in plain English I might be able to understand. 如果你能用简单的英语说出来，我也许能理解。 Teachers should encourage students to write in plain English. 教师应鼓励学生用平白的英文写作。