By Ravi Ghimire
Understanding any language correlates to the origin of a specific dialect. The modern English language is the modified version of the Indo-European language. This vernacular has come a long way adding and discarding vocabulary from more than 350 different languages. It is a recollection of Greek, German, Latin, French, and many other languages. These are all lenders correlating with the development of English.
Languages often expand, embracing commonly spoken words into their own as loanwords. As lexicographer Kory Stamper explains, “English has been borrowing words from other languages since its infancy.” There are many words still to be added in English. According to Webster’s dictionary, there are approximately 470,000 words in English.
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has ranked the difficulty of learning English in various ways relating to learners’ first language. Hence, it proves learning English to Khmer students takes only 44 weeks of dedication. A person with limited or no prior knowledge of English can get acquainted with general English within 1100 hours, thus a clear understanding of the root and strategies help learners to excel in their quest of language acquisition.