English is the most widespread language on Earth. English is considered an international language because people use it as a mother tongue or as a second language for cultural and professional purposes. English is the language of business, technology, sports and aviation etc.
English has the largest vocabulary with approximately 800 000 words. English is one of those languages which for many seems easy in the beginning. It has very few endings, many nouns and verbs have the same form (e. g. smile, increase). But English is by no means an easy language to learn. There is the problem of the large number of exceptions to any rule, it is very idiomatic and prepositions are terrible. The tense system is also very complicated. English presents a difficulty for a Russian learner because of disagreement between pronunciation and spelling.
English varies according to forms of communication (spoken – written), speech situations (formal – informal), functional styles (scientific language – literary language), geographical areas (British English – American English).
The students of economics study the language of science, so called restricted English, because it has a special vocabulary (terms) and restricted grammar.They have to read much special literature written in English. So, scientific English is becoming more popular and widespread than ever before.
In examining the relation between everyday and scientific English it is necessary to take into consideration vocabulary, grammar and style.
Everyday English is mostly about people, their activities and feelings. When speaking, we normally use short sentences in active form. At the same time, scientific language depends to a large extent on writing. That is why scientific English has many particular features (such as passive constructions, impersonal “it”, compound sentences etc). Scientific writing is usually about things, matter, phenomena, natural processes etc.
The problem of scientific vocabulary in English also causes many difficulties. Each branch of science and technology has its special vocabulary. But many scientific terms are more or less similar in several languages. This is usually because the words have been built up from Greek and Latin roots. So, more than half of the vocabulary in scientific English is international words. If you know economics well in your own language, you will recognize many of the economic terms when you read them in English. The difficulty is to pronounce them correctly. Examples are: management, partner, inflation etc.
Formal language is the type of language we use publicly for some serious purpose, for example, in official reports and business letters. Much of the vocabulary of formal English is of French, Latin and Greek origin. Informal language is the language of private conversation, popular newspapers, and personal letters.
It is important for a specialist to know a foreign language because it helps to study original literature concerning his or her profession, to contact foreign colleagues etc.
