ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the 'expansion' of English: how it became established as the first language-or one of the languages-of many communities outside England, starting first with the other countries of the British Isles. It spreads to many other parts of the world as colonies of English speakers were established in places such as the Americas, Africa, India and Australia. David Crystal estimated that between the end of the reign of Elizabeth IC1603 and the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth II the number of mother-tongue English speakers in the world increased from 5-7 million to about 250 million, of whom four-fifths lived outside the British Isles. The political incorporation of communities that feel they have a distinct cultural identity provides fertile ground for the emergence of nationalist reaction.