English Around The World

We recently participated in a conference on the English language and how it is different all over the world. The conference focused on some key places two of them where vast Anglo-Saxon  territories separated by an ocean and the other two are small regions wich have English as a second language, one of them in Europe and the other in the Caribbean. The two large countries are England and the United States. England is located in Europe on an island north of Spain, United States, on the other hand, is located in North America. English is the official language of both of this countries. The two smaller territories are Puerto Rico and Malta. Malta is a small territory to the south of Italy, its native language is Maltese but there are plenty of people that speak Italian still since it used to be part of Italy. Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean, its official language is Spanish but English is regularly taught in elementary. Puerto Rico used to be Spains property, hence its official language, but since it was colonized it has been greatly influenced by the United States  in every field from language to economics.

It is important to state the similarities and differences between each of these countries. For starters, Malta and England are near each other the same way US ad Puerto Rico are. The location of a country can greatly influence their language for they are exposed to many of the same factors. On the other hand,Malta and Puerto Rico are both small countries wich have a native Romance language. The romance language may be the reason these two countries have many similarities in their language, The same happens with England and US  since the English spoken in the United States origins from the one spoken in England. 

The fact that language is influenced by so many factors shines a light on why is language so diverse. Think of it, how is it possible that all these places and many more, speak the same language and still none of them do it in the same way? If we analyze the infinite possibilities of events and intertwining between different countries and cultures it becomes pretty clear that language is not something concrete. It is actually ever changing and evolving, it morphs through the years in  the way that better fits its user.

Map highlighting English speaking countries.