The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English,[1] [2] making it the largest language by number of speakers, the third largest language by number of native speakers and the most widespread language geographically. The countries in which English is the native language of most people are sometimes termed the Anglosphere. Speakers of English are called Anglophones.
Early Medieval England was the birthplace of the English language; the modern form of the language has been spread around the world since the 17th century, first by the worldwide influence of England and later the United Kingdom, and then by that of the United States. Through all types of printed and electronic media of these countries, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and professional fields, such as science, navigation and law.
The United States and India have the most total English speakers, with 306 million and 129 million,[3] respectively. These are followed by Pakistan (104 million), the United Kingdom (68 million), and Nigeria (60 million).[4] As of 2022, there were about 400 million native speakers of English.[5] Including people who speak English as a second language, estimates of the total number of Anglophones vary from 1.5 billion to 2 billion. David Crystal calculated in 2003 that non-native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of three to one.[6]
Besides the major varieties of English—American, British, Canadian, Australian, Irish, New Zealand English—and their sub-varieties, countries such as South Africa, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago also have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from English-based creole languages to Standard English. Other countries and territories, such as Ghana, also use English as their primary official language even though it is not the native language of most of the people. English holds official status in numerous countries within the Commonwealth of Nations.[7]
See main article: List of countries by English-speaking population and Anglosphere.
English is the primary natively spoken language in several countries and territories. Five of the largest of these are sometimes described as the "core Anglosphere";[8] [9] [10] they are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The term "Anglosphere" can sometimes be extended to include other countries and territories where English or an English Creole language is also the primary native language and English is the primary language of government and education, such as Ireland, Gibraltar, and the Commonwealth Caribbean.[11]
While English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in a handful of countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, these countries are not considered part of the English-speaking world as the language is still viewed primarily as a foreign tongue and does not serve an important cultural role in society.[12]
See main article: List of countries and territories where English is an official language. English is an official language (de facto or de jure) of the following countries and territories.[13]
Although not official, English is also an important language in some former colonies and protectorates of the British Empire where it is used as an administrative language, namely Brunei, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.
See also: English in computing, International English, World Englishes, World language, English as a second or foreign language, Englishisation and Euro English.
Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been called a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era,[14] and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language. It is, by international treaty, the official language for aeronautical[15] and maritime[16] communications. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. It is also one of two co-official languages for astronauts (besides the Russian language) serving on board the International Space Station.
The English language has a particular significance in the Commonwealth of Nations, which developed from the British Empire.[17] English is the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations.[18] The English language as used in the Commonwealth has sometimes been referred to as Commonwealth English, most often interchangeably with British English.[19]
English is studied most often in the European Union, and the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 67% in favour of English, ahead of 17% for German and 16% for French . In some of the non–English-speaking EU countries, the following percentages of adults claimed to be able to converse in English in 2012: 90% in the Netherlands; 89% in Malta; 86% in Sweden and Denmark; 73% in Cyprus, Croatia, and Austria; 70% in Finland; and over 50% in Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Germany. In 2012, excluding native speakers, 38% of Europeans consider that they can speak English.[20]
Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world; English is the most commonly used language in the sciences,[14] with Science Citation Index reporting as early as 1997 that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries.
In publishing, English literature predominates considerably, with 28% of all books published in the world [Leclerc 2011] and 30% of web content in 2011 (down from 50% in 2000).
The increasing use of the English language globally has had a large impact on many other languages, leading to language shift and language death,[21] and to claims of linguistic imperialism. English itself has become more open to language shift as multiple regional varieties feed back into the language as a whole.[22]
Web site: Australian Bureau of Statistics . 2011 Census QuickStats: Australia . 28 March 2013 . 25 March 2015 . 6 November 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151106221006/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/0 . dead .
Web site: Afhan Meytiyev . English and diplomacy . Scotland's Census 2011 . 26 September 2013 . 25 March 2020 .
Encyclopedia: Bao . Z. . Variation in Nonnative Varieties of English . Encyclopedia of language & linguistics . Brown . Keith . 2006 . Elsevier . 978-0-08-044299-0 . 10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/04257-7 . 377–380.
News: Crystal . David . Subcontinent Raises Its Voice . 19 November 2004b . 4 February 2015 . The Guardian.
Book: Crystal, David . Chapter 9: English worldwide . A History of the English language . limited . Denison . David . Hogg . Richard M. . Cambridge University Press . 2006 . 978-0-511-16893-2 . 420–439 .
Web site: National Records of Scotland . Census 2011: Release 2A . Scotland's Census 2011 . 26 September 2013 . 25 March 2015 .
Web site: The Routes of English . 1 August 2015 . .
Web site: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency . Census 2011: Key Statistics for Northern Ireland December 2012 . Statistics Bulletin . 11 December 2012 . 16 December 2014 . Table KS207NI: Main Language .
Book: Northrup, David . How English Became the Global Language . 20 March 2013 . Palgrave Macmillan . 978-1-137-30306-6 .
Web site: Office for National Statistics . Language in England and Wales, 2011 . 4 March 2013 . 2011 Census Analysis . 16 December 2014 .
Web site: Ryan . Camille . Language Use in the United States: 2011 . American Community Survey Reports . August 2013 . 1 . 16 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160205101044/http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf . 2016-02-05 . dead .
Web site: Statistics Canada . Population by mother tongue and age groups (total), 2011 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories . 22 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923190023/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Pages/highlight.cfm?TabID=1&Lang=E&Asc=0&PRCode=01&OrderBy=2&View=1&tableID=401&queryID=1&Age=1 . Sep 23, 2015 . 25 March 2015.
Web site: Statistics New Zealand . 2013 QuickStats About Culture and Identity . April 2014 . 23 . 25 March 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150115195639/http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Census/2013%20Census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/quickstats-culture-identity.pdf . 15 January 2015 .
Book: Census 2011: Census in brief . Statistics South Africa . Pretoria . 2012 . 9780621413885 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150513171240/http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf . 13 May 2015 . live . Table 2.5 Population by first language spoken and province (number) . .