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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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English
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The first language of the United Kingdom and of Ireland, and of several other countries throughout the world as a result of British colonial activities. Also by now the second language of a great many other nations, with the result that it has become the leading international language.
English is a member of the *Indo-European family of languages, and more specifically of the Germanic sub-group. It takes its name from the *Angles who in the 5–6C arrived from what is now northwest Germany.
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Dialects of their language were spoken by the other invading tribes, the Jutes and the Saxons, and their common culture is now called Anglo-Saxon. So was their language until recently, but it is now generally referred to as Old English (the language of *Beowulf). This lasted until about 1100, when the influence of Norman French caused it to develop into Middle English (culminating in *Chaucer). This in turn evolved around 1500 into Modern English.
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