English might be the most used language in the world but it had to come from somewhere. In this episode of The Story of English: The Mother Tongue they bring up the origins of the standard English we use today. There is not even once starting point to which we can attribute the English we speak today because it has been influenced by many other languages.
This episode made me feel like I was back in my AP World class from last year. The narrator travels to the distant lands interviewing locals on their way of speaking. As the video explains the origins of certain words from languages that include Welsh and Old English, the history of what was going on at the time is being explained.
The part that really got my attention was the one about the Normans and the French. While official business was handled in French, the rest of the population would speak Norman English. French was considered a snobby language that was even used in churches, while the actual language used outside the confines of the castle was not that. Still both contributed to the language. For example the French gave words with snob value and the Normans gave more than 10000 new words to the vocabulary. The French also added new words to the vocabulary which are commonly used terms of today. The mix of both these languages created prepositions and made the order matter when speaking.
English is a language that has been changing from the beginning and will probably continue changing until the end of time. New words might appear or maybe another languages vocabulary will be added to it. I think the fact that the language adapts is a big reason as to why so many people can speak it.
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