English language
| Countries (spoken in): |
Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Ireland, India, South Africa, New Zealand and others. |
| Official status (53 countries): |
Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Ireland, India, South Africa, New Zealand and others.
|
| Total speakers: |
First language: 309–400 million
Second language: 199–1,400 million |
English language — is an Indo-European, West Germanic language originating in England, and is the first language for most people in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Anglophone Caribbean.
It is used extensively as a second language and as an official language throughout the world, especially in Commonwealth countries and in many international organizations.
Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca, is the dominant international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomacy.
The initial reason for its enormous spread beyond the bounds of the British Isles where it was originally a native tongue was the British Empire, and by the late nineteenth century its influence had won a truly global reach.
It is the dominant language in the United States and the growing economic and cultural influence of that federal union as a global superpower since World War II has significantly accelerated adoption of English as a language across the planet.
English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers and Roman auxiliary troops from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Northern Netherlands. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England.
Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era.
English online translators
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