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【Abstract】Contact and assimilation of English with other languages play a very important role for English development and contribute much to its present status as an international language. Seen form a historic perspective， the development history helps to result in linguistic imperialism of English and the potential loss of linguistic identity for many people in other cultures.
【Key words】language development； linguistic imperialism； linguistic identity
1. History of English language’s development
The history of English language can be traced back to the arrival of three Germanic tribes to the British Isles during the 5th Century AD. Angles， Saxons and Jutes crossed the North Sea from what is the present-day Denmark and northern Germany. The inhabitants of Britain previously spoke a Celtic language that was quickly displaced. Most of the Celtic speakers were pushed into Wales， Cornwall and Scotland. One group migrated to the Brittany Coast of France where their descendants still speak the Celtic Language of Breton today. The Angles were named from Engle， their land of origin. Their language was called Englisc from which the word， English， derives.
During the 7th and 8th Centuries， Northumbria’s culture and language dominated Britain. The Viking invasions of the 9th Century brought this domination to an end （along with the destruction of Mercia）. By the 10th Century， the West Saxon dialect became the official language of Britain. Written Old English is mainly known from this period. It was written in an alphabet called Runic， derived from the Scandinavian languages. The Latin Alphabet was brought over from Ireland by Christian missionaries. This has remained the writing system of English.
In 1066 the Normans conquered Britain. French became the language of the Norman aristocracy and added more vocabulary to English. More pairs of similar words between English and French arose. It wasn’t till the 14th Century that English became dominant in Britain again. By the end of the 14th Century， the dialect of London had emerged as the standard dialect of what we now call Middle English.
Modern English began around the 16th Century. Since the 16th Century， because of the contact that the British had with many peoples from around the world， and the Renaissance of Classical learning， many words have entered the language either directly or indirectly. New words were created at an increasing rate. This process has grown exponentially in the modern era. Languages that have contributed words to English include Latin， Greek， French， German， Arabic， Hindi （from India）， Italian， Malay， Dutch， Farsi （from Iran and Afganistan）， Nahuatl （the Aztec language）， Sanskrit （from ancient India）， Portuguese， Spanish， Tupi （from South America） and Ewe （from Africa）. The vocabulary of English becomes the largest of any language. Grafted onto this basic stock was a lot of contributions to produce English vocabulary. 2. English language’s spread
Language spread is a metaphor for the adoption of a given language by individuals. It can be defined as ‘an increase， over time， in the proportion of a communication network that adopts a given language or language variety for a given communicative function.’ （Cooper， 2012：6）
A considerable number of factors are involved in any language spread situation. Lewis groups them into four sets （1982：215）：
（1） Language attitudes， for example the strength of efforts to maintain a threatened language or to restrict the functions of an indigenous language；
（2） The nature of the between-group interaction， e.g. geographical contiguity， ease of communication， conquest， colonization， the nature of the relationship between the colonizing Centre and the Periphery；
（3） Modernization， including the intensity of economic development， the degree of external exploitation of indigenous resources， urbanization， demographical features such as the degree of education of mobile and stable population groups；
（4） The political theories and religious and cultural characteristics associated with a language， especially the distance between the spreading language and other languages in contact with it with respect to these theories and characteristics.
Whereas in earlier historical periods， compared with other languages， the spread of English is unique， both in terms of its geographical reach and as regards the depth of its penetration. The contributing factors for its wide spread should be the contact of the English language speakers with other language speakers. During the process of establishing its own characteristics， English demonstrated great flexibilities to absorb new vocabulary from other languages during Britain colonization all over the world. British and American promotion of the English language， especially the promotion of the English language teaching worldwide also had contributed a lot to its wide spread.
The spread of English is as significant in its way as is the modern use of computers. When the amount of information needing to be processed came to exceed human capabilities， the computer appeared on the scene， transforming the processes of planning and calculation. When the need for global communication came to exceed the limits set by language barriers， the spread of English accelerated， transforming existing patterns of international communication （Kachru， 1999）.
3. English language’s internationally dominating status It is estimated that there are 300 million native speakers and 300 million who use English as a second language and a further 100 million use it as a foreign language. It is the language of science， aviation， computing， diplomacy， and tourism. English plays a part in the cultural， political or economic life in many countries. The English-speaking countries compare to 27 countries for French， 20 for Spanish and 17 for Arabic. This domination is without parallel in history. Although speakers of French， Spanish and Arabic may disagree， English is well on its way to become the unofficial international language of the world.
To put things more metaphorically， whereas once Britannia ruled the most of the territories of the world， now it is English that rules them. The British Empire has given way to the empire of English language.
4. English linguistic imperialism
A working definition of English linguistic imperialism is offered as follows： “The dominance of English is asserted and maintained by the establishment and continuous reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages （Robert Phillipson 2000：47）. English has become an international language to the point that any literately educated person is in real sense deprived if he doesn’t know English. Poverty， famine， and disease are instantly recognized as the cruelest forms of deprivation. Linguistic deprivation is a less easily noticed condition， but it is of great significance to those who don’t know English.
The internationally dominating status of the English language has benefited the people in the core English-speaking countries a lot and the people in the periphery-English countries as well. English language is more than just a tool to communicate. Many countries are now spending great efforts to promote English teaching in their countries. But their own vernacular language teaching is facing problems， thus their citizens are facing more problems to form their own linguistic identity because language has always played an important role in the formation and expression of identity. The role of language in identity construction is becoming even more central in the post-modern era， as other traditional markers of identity are being reduced， including that of race. Language makes us declare our identity， without our own language， our identity stays unknown and hidden. So when making language educational policies， each nation should take protecting their own language and cultural identity into consideration. 5. Conclusion
English has become the leading language of international communication in the world today. This remarkable development is ultimately the result of 17th， 18th， and 19th century British success in conquest， colonization， and trade， but it was greatly accelerated by the emergence of the United States as the major world military power and technological leader in the times after World War Two. English has intruded into many other languages and cultures. English offers the world people more chances to exchange and communicate with each other， but at the same time， each nation and peoples should make efforts to maintain their own languages so that they can maintain their own linguistic and cultural identity.
References：
[1]Cooper，R.L.2012.A framework for the study of language spread.Indiana University Press.
[2]Kachru，B.B.1999.The Other Tongue：English across Cultures.Oxford：Pergamon.
[3]Lewis，E.G.1982.Movement and agencies of Language spread.Indiana University Press.
[4]Robert Phillipson.2000.Linguistic Imperialism.Oxford University Press
【Key words】language development； linguistic imperialism； linguistic identity
1. History of English language’s development
The history of English language can be traced back to the arrival of three Germanic tribes to the British Isles during the 5th Century AD. Angles， Saxons and Jutes crossed the North Sea from what is the present-day Denmark and northern Germany. The inhabitants of Britain previously spoke a Celtic language that was quickly displaced. Most of the Celtic speakers were pushed into Wales， Cornwall and Scotland. One group migrated to the Brittany Coast of France where their descendants still speak the Celtic Language of Breton today. The Angles were named from Engle， their land of origin. Their language was called Englisc from which the word， English， derives.
During the 7th and 8th Centuries， Northumbria’s culture and language dominated Britain. The Viking invasions of the 9th Century brought this domination to an end （along with the destruction of Mercia）. By the 10th Century， the West Saxon dialect became the official language of Britain. Written Old English is mainly known from this period. It was written in an alphabet called Runic， derived from the Scandinavian languages. The Latin Alphabet was brought over from Ireland by Christian missionaries. This has remained the writing system of English.
In 1066 the Normans conquered Britain. French became the language of the Norman aristocracy and added more vocabulary to English. More pairs of similar words between English and French arose. It wasn’t till the 14th Century that English became dominant in Britain again. By the end of the 14th Century， the dialect of London had emerged as the standard dialect of what we now call Middle English.
Modern English began around the 16th Century. Since the 16th Century， because of the contact that the British had with many peoples from around the world， and the Renaissance of Classical learning， many words have entered the language either directly or indirectly. New words were created at an increasing rate. This process has grown exponentially in the modern era. Languages that have contributed words to English include Latin， Greek， French， German， Arabic， Hindi （from India）， Italian， Malay， Dutch， Farsi （from Iran and Afganistan）， Nahuatl （the Aztec language）， Sanskrit （from ancient India）， Portuguese， Spanish， Tupi （from South America） and Ewe （from Africa）. The vocabulary of English becomes the largest of any language. Grafted onto this basic stock was a lot of contributions to produce English vocabulary. 2. English language’s spread
Language spread is a metaphor for the adoption of a given language by individuals. It can be defined as ‘an increase， over time， in the proportion of a communication network that adopts a given language or language variety for a given communicative function.’ （Cooper， 2012：6）
A considerable number of factors are involved in any language spread situation. Lewis groups them into four sets （1982：215）：
（1） Language attitudes， for example the strength of efforts to maintain a threatened language or to restrict the functions of an indigenous language；
（2） The nature of the between-group interaction， e.g. geographical contiguity， ease of communication， conquest， colonization， the nature of the relationship between the colonizing Centre and the Periphery；
（3） Modernization， including the intensity of economic development， the degree of external exploitation of indigenous resources， urbanization， demographical features such as the degree of education of mobile and stable population groups；
（4） The political theories and religious and cultural characteristics associated with a language， especially the distance between the spreading language and other languages in contact with it with respect to these theories and characteristics.
Whereas in earlier historical periods， compared with other languages， the spread of English is unique， both in terms of its geographical reach and as regards the depth of its penetration. The contributing factors for its wide spread should be the contact of the English language speakers with other language speakers. During the process of establishing its own characteristics， English demonstrated great flexibilities to absorb new vocabulary from other languages during Britain colonization all over the world. British and American promotion of the English language， especially the promotion of the English language teaching worldwide also had contributed a lot to its wide spread.
The spread of English is as significant in its way as is the modern use of computers. When the amount of information needing to be processed came to exceed human capabilities， the computer appeared on the scene， transforming the processes of planning and calculation. When the need for global communication came to exceed the limits set by language barriers， the spread of English accelerated， transforming existing patterns of international communication （Kachru， 1999）.
3. English language’s internationally dominating status It is estimated that there are 300 million native speakers and 300 million who use English as a second language and a further 100 million use it as a foreign language. It is the language of science， aviation， computing， diplomacy， and tourism. English plays a part in the cultural， political or economic life in many countries. The English-speaking countries compare to 27 countries for French， 20 for Spanish and 17 for Arabic. This domination is without parallel in history. Although speakers of French， Spanish and Arabic may disagree， English is well on its way to become the unofficial international language of the world.
To put things more metaphorically， whereas once Britannia ruled the most of the territories of the world， now it is English that rules them. The British Empire has given way to the empire of English language.
4. English linguistic imperialism
A working definition of English linguistic imperialism is offered as follows： “The dominance of English is asserted and maintained by the establishment and continuous reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages （Robert Phillipson 2000：47）. English has become an international language to the point that any literately educated person is in real sense deprived if he doesn’t know English. Poverty， famine， and disease are instantly recognized as the cruelest forms of deprivation. Linguistic deprivation is a less easily noticed condition， but it is of great significance to those who don’t know English.
The internationally dominating status of the English language has benefited the people in the core English-speaking countries a lot and the people in the periphery-English countries as well. English language is more than just a tool to communicate. Many countries are now spending great efforts to promote English teaching in their countries. But their own vernacular language teaching is facing problems， thus their citizens are facing more problems to form their own linguistic identity because language has always played an important role in the formation and expression of identity. The role of language in identity construction is becoming even more central in the post-modern era， as other traditional markers of identity are being reduced， including that of race. Language makes us declare our identity， without our own language， our identity stays unknown and hidden. So when making language educational policies， each nation should take protecting their own language and cultural identity into consideration. 5. Conclusion
English has become the leading language of international communication in the world today. This remarkable development is ultimately the result of 17th， 18th， and 19th century British success in conquest， colonization， and trade， but it was greatly accelerated by the emergence of the United States as the major world military power and technological leader in the times after World War Two. English has intruded into many other languages and cultures. English offers the world people more chances to exchange and communicate with each other， but at the same time， each nation and peoples should make efforts to maintain their own languages so that they can maintain their own linguistic and cultural identity.
References：
[1]Cooper，R.L.2012.A framework for the study of language spread.Indiana University Press.
[2]Kachru，B.B.1999.The Other Tongue：English across Cultures.Oxford：Pergamon.
[3]Lewis，E.G.1982.Movement and agencies of Language spread.Indiana University Press.
[4]Robert Phillipson.2000.Linguistic Imperialism.Oxford University Press