English is the world's leading international language. It is the principal language spoken in Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and some other countries such as Uganda and Botswana. About 320 million people speak English as their first language - about the same number as Spanish, but less than Mandarin Chinese or Hindi.
     The total number of English speakers in the world is estimated to be about 460 million - second only to Mandarin Chinese.
     English is the main second language in India, South Africa and many parts of Africa and Asia. But - more and more - it is also the language of international commerce, of business, of diplomacy and of tourism.
     But how did English reach this special position?
     Mostly, it was a result of chance. Britain was the world's most active colonial  nation in the 19th century, and British explorers and colonists took their language with them wherever they went. English became the official language of most of Britain's colonies. In the 20th century, America has been the world's most powerful nation - and Americans have brought the English language to other countries of the world. 
     The importance of American international corporations has made sure that English has become the international language of business; and Hollywood and the music industry have made sure that it has become the principal language for the media and showbiz.
     But other factors have helped with the international development of  English too.
     Over a thousand years ago, when the roots of modern Europe were being formed, western Europe was divided into three sections: in the East there were people who spoke Slavonic languages, in the middle there were people speaking Germanic languages (including Scandinavians), and in the south and west there were people speaking "Romance" languages, derived from Latin.
     In those days, England was a Germanic country; its people spoke a variety of languages including forms of Danish and Anglo Saxon.
     In 1066, England was conquered by the Normans, from France, who brought with them their own langage - Norman French - a Romance language.
     In the centuries that followed, the old Germanic languages mixed with Norman French to produce a new language, English, which was thus rather different from other European languages. It was partly Germanic (particularly the grammar and structures), partly Romance (a lot of the vocabulary).
     In other words, English is at the dividing line of the two principal families of language used in Western Europe today. Most people in Europe today can recognise something of their own language in English.
     For example, if you come from a Germanic country, you do not need to have learned much English to understand this sentence:
     The man forgot to water his garden last night
Anyone who speaks French or Spanish or Italian, should be able to understand this English sentence without too much difficulty:
     Indicate if you have a difficult problem.

     As English is half way between two different language groups, speakers of other languages have often found it easy to communicate in English, even without paying attention to grammar!
     Nevertheless, grammar is important; for without grammar, no language can survive. Grammar is the cement with which the bricks of language are held together. Without it, even messages in simple English can be quite impossible to understand.
     Just look at the importance of word order in this simple example: 
     The man the woman saw was hungry.
     The man saw the woman was hungry.
Or look at the radical difference in meaning between these two sentences:
     This is a story forgotten by Charles Dickens.
     This is a forgotten story by Charles Dickens.

     In recent times, as English has become a global language, used in different places all over the world, it has become a much richer language than in the past. It has picked up new words from other cultures, other languages, such as bungalow (from India),  détente (from French), kebab (from Turkey), potato (from American Indian) - plus a lot of modern slang from America.
     Today, both grammar and vocabulary are still changing. There is no such thing as "official English"; neither Britain nor the USA has anything like the "Académie Française" to decide what is acceptable and what is not. The most accepted sources of reference are the famous English dictionaries - Websters for the USA and the Oxford English Dictionary for British English. Like other dictionaries however, they are descriptive not prescriptive - i.e. they describe language as it is used, they do not tell people what they can or should say or should not say.
     Today's English is different from the English of 100 years ago; it is pronounced differently too - and no doubt, it will be even more different in 100 years' time.