English speaking countries

ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

It is believed that Aboriginal peoples arrived from Asia thousands of years ago by way of a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska. Some of them settled in Canada while others chose to continue to the south. When the European explorers arrived, Caanada was populated by a diverse range of Aboriginal peoples who, depending on the environment, lived nomadic or settled lifestyles, were hunters, fishermen or farmers.

First contacts between the native peoples and Europeans probably occurred about 1000 years ago when the Icelandic Norsemen settled for a brief time on the island of Newfoundland. But it would be another 600 years before European exploration began in earnest.

The name “Canada” is believed to have originated with its first inhabitants, since the natives used the world “kanata” to describe a settlement. The term is thought to have been picked up by European discoverers, who changed it to its present spelling.

Canadians, of whom there are more tnan 30 million, become accustomed to the disproportional size of the country by the time they have studied its geography at school. Newcomers to Canada – if they know nothing else about it – know that it is capacious. But most cannot help but be impressed with even the most basik statistics on our planet`s second biggest nation, which is exceeded in area only by Russia. Occupying over 9,976,000 square kilometres, Canada extends from the Northwest Territories` Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island – a relative hop and skip from the North Pole – to Pelee Island in Ontario`s portion of Lake Erie – and with the same latitude as central Spain. Canada`s neighbour across the Arctic Ocean is Russia. That is a north-south distance of 2,850 miles. The east to west span is 5,780 miles – from Cape Spear, Newfoundland, to Mount St. Elias, the Yukon Territory – six distinct time zones. Canada`s border with the United States is one of the longest: it extends 8,892 km and is broken by scores of entry-exit points between the two nations. It is near this frontier that some 85 per cent of the Canada`s populace is clustered.

In between these points there are thirteen principal subdivisions – ten provinces and three territiries that embrace most of the vast north, accounting for 38 per cent of Canada`s area and an infinitesimal fraction of its population (about 0,3 per cent).

Except for the United Kingdom there are some other countries in the world where people speak English and this language is one of the official languages. The largest and most important of them are the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The territory of the United States of America is over 9 million square kilometres; this is one of the largest countries in the world. Its population is about 250 million people. People of various nationalities live in the USA: the English, the German, the Chinese, the Hindu, the Greek and so on.

The USA has 50 states. The flag of the USA has 13 red and white stripes, which symbolize the original 13 states. 50 stars on the blue field in the left upper corner are for each of the 50 states of the country in our days. The capital of the USA is Washington, D. C. (the District of Columbia). This city was named in honour of the first president, George Washington. Some of the biggest cities of the USA are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and others.

The USA as any other country has its own symbols, traditions and holidays

- for example, the 4th of July, or Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day. The national symbol of America is the bald eagle. Another American symbol is Uncle Sam.

The world's second-largest country is Canada. The total area of Canada equals to almost 10 million square kilometres. The climate in Canada isn’t mild. It has four very distinct seasons, it can be very hot in summer - to 35°C above zero and higher, and quite cold in winter - 25°C below zero and even colder. Though Canada is one of largest countries in the world, its population isn’t dense. There are only about 30 million people living in Canada which is very little if we compare the territory of Canada with the UK where 60 million people live.

Canada has two official languages - English and French. Many Canadians speak both languages very well. The leading cities of Canada are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. The official head of Canada is the Queen of the United Kingdom. But practically there is a Prime Minister of the Canadian government to rule the country. Besides Canada has a democratic parliament, which is situated in Ottawa and consists of the House of Commons and the Senate.

Official emblems of Canada are the beaver and the maple leaf. The colours of Canada are white and red.

Australia – a continent and a state - is situated in the Southern Hemisphere, in the southern part of Asia, between the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is about 8 million square kilometres. Australia occupies the Tasmania Island and a number of smaller islands too. Australia is the sixth largest country in area. It has a wide climate range, from tropical in the north to temperate in the south-east.

Australia is divided into 8 administrative areas. The population of Australia equals to about 18 million people and 70 percent of them live in urban areas – in Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide and other large cities. The capital of Australia, Canberra, is not very large, but it is lovely.

Australia has a multicultural society. People of about 200 nationalities live there. The aborigines, the Australian natives, represent about 1.5 percent of the population.

The Australian flag is blue. There is the flag of the UK on the Australian banner, a large seven-pointed star beneath it and the Southern Cross constellation

The most popular Australian animals as well as informal Australian symbols are the koala, emu and kangaroo.

Another country in the Pacific Ocean where people speak English as an official language is New Zealand. It is located not far from Australia – only the Tasman Sea separates them by a distance of about 1,600 km. New Zealand occupies two large islands - the North Island and the South Island as well as numerous small islands. New Zealand isn’t very large in area.

New Zealand has a population of 3.8 million people. Many people live in urban areas, and about 50 percent of them live in the largest cities - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Dunedin. The first of them is an important seaport and industrial centre. And Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. New Zealand stays in close association with the United Kingdom as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. And the formal head of the state is the Queen of the United Kingdom.

The New Zealand flag represents the Southern Cross, the stars of it are red with white edgings. The flag of the United Kingdom in the left upper corner shows the recognition to the historical foundations and the fact that New Zealand was once a British colony and dominion.

The national emblem of New Zealand is a flightless bird kiwi. And silver fern is a sporting emblem.