English, a language that emerged within the territory of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of England, has a West Germanic origin. It is considered one of the most influential languages in the world today, being used to give speeches that bring together individuals from nations with totally different languages, that is, it is a lingua franca, due to the large number of speakers it has (around 508 millions). As such, the term "English" is a derivation of "Anglos", the official name of the Germanic tribe that brought an early Englishman to what would become the United Kingdom. However, this word can also refer to the gentilicio of England.
This language has undergone quite remarkable changes throughout history, due to the political and military influence that could be appreciated in previous times. Some words found within its vocabulary have been borrowed from North Germanic languages and French. It is considered the Frisian, a language spoken by at the least 500,000 people, one of the closest relatives to the English language, although these similarities can be observed only in the earliest phase of both languages.
Within the phonological aspect, English has around 25 consonants (27 if some variations from other countries are taken into account); They are classified into four large groups: the fricatives, the stops, the nasal and the approximants. Its spelling, which has undergone some modifications, differs a lot from the pronunciation of the same word by the vowels, since in this language the sound and the writing are totally different. It should be noted that, due to geographical conditions, English may contain different words or accents in the countries that proclaim it as the mother tongue or main language.
