THEROADTOMODERNENGLISH 　　Attheendofthe16thcentury,aboutfivetosevenmillionpeoplespokeEnglish.NearlyallofthemlivedinEnglish.Laterinthenextcentury,peopleformEnglishmadevoyagestoconquerotherpartsoftheworldandbecauseofthat,Englishbegantobespokeninmanyothercountries.Today,morepeoplespeakEnglishastheirfirst,secondoraforeignlanguagethaneverbefore. 　　NativeEnglishspeakerscanunderstandeachothereveniftheydon'tspeakthesamekindofEnglish.Lookatthisexample: 　　BritishBetty:wouldyouliketoseemyflat? 　　AmericanAmy:Yes.I'dliketocomeuptoyourapartment. 　　SowhyhasEnglishchangedovertime?Actuallyalllanguageschangeand 　　developwhenculturesmeetandcommunicatewitheachother.AtfisttheEnglishspokeninEnglandbetweenaboutAD450and1150wasverydifferentfromtheEnglishspokentoday.ItwasbasedmoreonGenmanthantheEnglishwespeadatpresent.ThengraduallybetweenaboutAD800and1150,InglishbecamelesslideGermanbecausethosewhoruledEnglandspodefirstDanishandlaterFrench.ThesenewsettlersenrichedtheEnglishlanguageandespecillyitsvocabrlary.Sobythe1600'sShadespearewasabletomakeuseofawidervocabularythaneverbefoue.In1620someBritishsettlersmovedtoAmerica.Laterinthe18thcenturysomeBritishpeopleweretakentoAustraliatoo.Englishbegantobespokeninbothcountries. 　　Finallybythe19thcenturythelanguagewassettled.AtthattimetwobigchangesinEnglishspellinghappened:firstSamuelJohnsonwrotehisdistionaryandlaterNoahWebsterwroteTheAnericanDictionaryoftheEnglishLangrage.ThelattergaveaseparateidentitytoAmericanEnglishspeelling. 　　EnglishmowisslsospokenasaforeignorsecondlanguageinSouthAsia.Forexanple,IndiahasaverylargenumberoffluentenglishspeakersbecauseBritainruledIndiafrom1765to1947.DuringthattimeEnglishbecamethelanguageforgovernmentandeducation.EnglishisalsospokeninSingaporeandMalaysiaandcountuiesinAfricasuchasSouthAfrica.TodaythenumberofpeoplelearningEnglishinChinaisincreasingrapidly.Infact,ChinamayhavethelargestnumberofEnglishlearners.WillChineseEnglishdevelopitsownidentity?Onlytimewilltell.