PROFILE
|
|
Native Name
English
Total Speakers
322,000,000 (1995)
Usage by Country
Europe -
Official Language: Gibraltar, Ireland, Malta, United Kingdom
Asia -
Official Language: India, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore
Africa -
Official Language: Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho,
Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
Central and South America -
Official Language: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados,
Belize, Bermuda, Br. Virgin Isl.s, Dominica, Falklands, Grenada,
Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis,
St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos
Islands, US Virging Islands
North America -
Official Language: USA, Canada
Oceania -
Official Language: American Samoa, Australia, Belau, Cook Islands,
Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand,
Niue, Norfolk Islands, Northern Mariannas, Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Western Samoa.
Background
It belongs to the Indo-European family, Germanic
group, West Germanic subgroup and is the official language of over
1.7 billion people. Home speakers are over 330 million. As regards
the evolution of the English language, three main phases can be
distinguished. From the 6th and 5th centuries B.C., the Celtics
are believed to have lived in the place where we now call Britain.
Britain first appeared in the historical records as Julius Caesar
campaigned there in 55-54 B.C. Britain was conquered in 43 A.D.
and remained under the Roman occupation until 410 A.D. Then came
from the European Continent the Germanic tribes, who spoke the languages
belonging to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language
family. First the Jutes from Jutland (present-day Denmark) in the
3rd century A.D., then in the 5th century, the Saxons from Friesland,
Frisian Islands and north-west Germany, finally the Angles, from
present-day Schleswig-Holstein (a German Land) who settled north
of the Thames. The words "England" and "English", come from the
word, "Angles". During the Old English period of 450-1,100 A.D.
(first phase), Britain experienced the spread of Christianity, and,
from the 8th century, the invasion and occupation by the Vikings,
called the "Danes." The most important event of the second phase,
the Middle English period (1100-1500 A.D.) was the Norman Conquest
of 1066. The Normans were the North Men, meaning the Vikings from
Scandinavia, settled in the Normandy region of France from the 9th
century, who had assimilated themselves to the French language and
culture. English was much influenced by French during this time.
During the third phase, the Modern English period (1500 onwards),
English spread to the world as the British Empire colonised many
lands. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) lived in this period, and
in 1755 Samuel Johnson completed "A Dictionary of the English Language"
with about 40,000 entries, which contributed to the standardisation
of the English language. The English language which spread to the
world created many of its variants, the most prominent of which
is American English. The American English writing system is said
to owe much to Noah Webster's "An American Dictionary of the English
Language" which was completed in 1828. Other important varieties
include Indian English, Australian English, and many English-based
Creoles and Pidgins.
Received: 19980525
Posted: 19980720
Checked: 19981112
Sources
|
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted
in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind,
and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom
of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed
as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have
recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression,
that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly
relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter
reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity
and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and
women and have determined to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in
cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal
respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is
of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common
standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the
end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping
this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching
and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms
and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure
their universal and effective recognition and observance, both
among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples
of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article I
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth
in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the
political, jurisdictional or international status of the country
or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent,
trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the
slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person
before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination
to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection
against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and
against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent
national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted
him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing
by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination
of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against
him.
Article 11
- Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a
public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary
for his defence.
- No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account
of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence,
under national or international law, at the time when it was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one
that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his
privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his
honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection
of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
- Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence
within the borders of each State.
- Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his
own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
- Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries
asylum from persecution.
- This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions
genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary
to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
- Everyone has the right to a nationality.
- No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor
denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
- Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race,
nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found
a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage,
during marriage and at its dissolution.
- Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full
consent of the intending spouses.
- The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society
and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
- Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in
association with others.
- No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or
belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference
and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through
any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
- Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association.
- No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21
- Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his
country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
- Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in
his country.
- The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority
of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and
genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage
and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting
procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security
and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international
co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources
of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable
for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
- Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment,
to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection
against unemployment.
- Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal
pay for equal work.
- Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human
dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social
protection.
- Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for
the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable
limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
- Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for
the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including
food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social
services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment,
sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood
in circumstances beyond his control.
- Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and
assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock,
shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
- Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free,
at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary
education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education
shall be made generally available and higher education shall
be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
- Education shall be directed to the full development of the
human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding,
tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious
groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations
for the maintenance of peace.
- Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education
that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
- Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural
life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific
advancement and its benefits.
- Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and
material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or
artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which
the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully
realized.
Article 29
- Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free
and full development of his personality is possible.
- In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall
be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law
solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect
for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just
requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare
in a democratic society.
- These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary
to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for
any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity
or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights
and freedoms set forth herein.
|
|
