- Anguilla.
- Antigua and Barbuda.
- Bahamas, The.
- Barbados.
- Belize.
- Belgium.
- Bermuda.
- Botswana.
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How many countries have English as an official language?
67 different countriesEnglish is the official language of 67 different countries and 27 non-sovereign entities around the world. But apart from that, English is also spoken in many countries where it's not an official language.
What country has English as official language?
Nations in which English is an official language (de facto or de jure). Anglosphere countries are those where English is the main native language. All areas of the world that were ever part of the British Empire....Sovereign states.CountryFijiISO codeFJIGeographic regionOceaniaPopulation828,00053 more columns
Who speaks best English in the world?
NetherlandsItaly has the lowest level of English proficiency of any country in the European Union. The country was given 36th place overall and placed in the “moderate proficiency” group....Revealed: The World's Best Non-Native English Speaking Countries, 2019.Rank1CountryNetherlandsScore70.27ProficiencyVery high99 more columns•Nov 5, 2019
Which is the 2nd largest English speaking country?
Read on to find out which countries have the most English speakers and the highest English proficiency.United States: 268M. ... India: 125M. ... Pakistan: 94M. ... The Philippines: 90M. ... Nigeria: 79M-100M. ... The United Kingdom: 59.6M. ... The Netherlands: 15M English Speakers. ... Denmark: 4.8M English Speakers.More items...
Is English Nigeria first language?
Though English is the only official language, there are some 350 indigenous languages that most Nigerians use most of the time. There are guesses that 10 percent of the population speaks English as their first language, or some 20 million Nigerians.
Why is English not the official language of England?
Though by far the biggest nation within the United Kingdom, it has no parliament. It therefore does not have an official language.
Who speaks English today?
Out of the world's approximately 7.8 billion inhabitants, 1.35 billion speak English. The majority aren't native English speakers, however. About 360 million people speak English as their first language.
Which country does not speak English?
These include China, The Gambia, Malawi, Colombia, Swaziland, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, Algeria, Uganda, Yemen, Chile and Tanzania.
What is the history of the English language?
Linguistic History. The history of the English language, like any language, is a long history filled with changes. The earliest form of English is called Old English and developed from a set of North Sea Germanic dialects spoken by tribes know as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
How did the English language spread?
The English language spread with the growth and expansion of the British Empire. Starting in the late 16th Century Britain established its first colonies in the Americas. Following a colonial expansion and a series of victories over France and the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th Centuries, England became the dominant colonial power in North America and India. Despite losing its Thirteen North American colonies in 1783, the British Empire continued to expand elsewhere, turning to colonizing Asia, Africa and the Pacific. For most of the 19th Century and early 20th Century, Britain was the world's leading imperial power. By 1922 the empire controlled one-fifth of the world's population and almost one-fourth of the Earth's land. Even in the areas it did not control the empire exerted much economic influence, since it dominated world trade. Following World War Two the British Empire declined greatly, losing most of its overseas possessions during the post war decolonization period. Despite losing its empire the British spread the English language around the globe with its world spanning colonies and economic influence that one can still feel today.
What countries did the British colonize?
Despite losing its Thirteen North American colonies in 1783, the British Empire continued to expand elsewhere, turning to colonizing Asia, Africa and the Pacific. For most of the 19th Century and early 20th Century, Britain was the world's leading imperial power.
Why is English considered a powerhouse?
Even outside of the "Anglosphere", English often serves as a means to bridge the gap between diverse cultures. The English language is a global powerhouse. It is the third most common native language in the world, behind only Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. It is the mostly widely spoken second language in the world and an official language ...
When did the Middle English transition to Modern English?
Middle English transitioned to Early Modern English from about mid-12th Century until the 17th Century through inflection simplification, simplifying linguistics and the Great Vowel Shift. The Great Vowel Shift is when all Middle English vowels changed their pronunciation.
Is English the primary language of the world?
English is spoken as the primary language in many countries around the world, with the core of traditional English-speaking states often referred to as the "Anglosphere", but how did the English language become a global powerhouse in the first place?
Is the English language going extinct?
The English language is in no danger of becoming extinct anytime soon, nor is it in danger of losing its spot as one of the world's most spoken and global languages. New words may come and go, but the English language seems like it will be globally strong into the very the distant future.
How long has the English language been around?
The English language was developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. English was first spoken by three Germanic tribes – the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes – who migrated to Great Britain from the North Sea during the 5th Century, but was also heavily influenced by languages such as Old Norse, Latin and French.
How many people speak English?
With more than 370 million native speaker s (and an additional 1.2 billion non-native speakers), English is the most commonly spoken language. English is the language of choice in the business world, the de facto international language of science and the most commonly studied foreign language on the planet.
How many countries use English as their official language?
More than 50 countries around the world use English as an official language. After English, the other most common official languages are French, Arabic and Spanish. However, these are still not nearly as popular as English. These three languages are official in less than 30 countries.
Why is English the official language of the world?
Due to many factors, like colonization and the need for a common business language, English became the de facto language for most of the world. However, only about 50 countries actually list English as an official language. To learn about other fascinating cultures and languages, browse the ALTA Beyond Words blog.
What is the difference between an endoglossic and an exoglossic language?
Official languages can be endoglossic or exoglossic. Endoglossic languages are official languages that are native to the country while exoglossic are official or widely used languages that are not indigenous to the nation. In Nigeria, for example, English is the exoglossic official language.
What is the official language of Nigeria?
In Nigeria, for example, English is the exoglossic official language. But, endoglossic languages like Hausa and Yoruba are still widely spoken in Nigeria. 5. One South American country uses English as an official language.
What is the difference between official and de facto?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, an official language is “the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country’s government , is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc.”. A de facto language is the language that is widely spoken by a country’s population.
What is de facto language?
A de facto language is the language that is widely spoken by a country’s population. In countries without an official language, the de facto language is generally used by the government. There are many political and historical reasons why certain countries don’t make English an official language.
How many states have an official language?
While the United States doesn’t have an official language, more than 30 states do. Most of these states use English, but a few have additional official languages. In Alaska, native languages like Inupiaq and Siberian Yupik are also included, and in Hawaii, both English and Hawaiian are official.
1- India!
2- Jamaica!
3- Singapore!
- Singapore is a city-state on the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia, mostly an island town with population being more than 2.7 million people. To have English as one’s official language has been declared since its independence from British colonial rule in 1965—up until 2015 when Malay replaced it for bilingual purposes by forming Singaporeans’ foundation to the nation and home c…
4- Botswana!
- After being colonized by the British in 1876, English came to be recognized as the lingua franca of Botswana itself. Apart from its own practice, it now acts as a common language for communication with neighbors. Approximately 20 million people speak English as a first language, and it is the 2nd official language of Botswana. Motswana or Zimbabwean English ser…
5- Zimbabwe!
- After the British colonized the country in 1890, there was thereafter no other language which could be considered as an official one; it made English that much more important during public functions and the government’s due diligence. The colonial administration each year pays 100 million Zimbabwe dollars (about $1 billion USD) to support English-medium education alone.
6- Australia!
- English is one of the two official languages, an emblematic symbol for Australian nationhood. It was first introduced as a language to be used by people under the British administration in the 1810s; since then it has always remained there even after other countries like New Zealand, Canada and the United States also had English-speaking societies ...
7- Ireland!
- Despite having had only limited contact with the United Kingdom during its thousand of years, Irish people have entitled it as one of their official languages when they established themselves into an independent nation in 1922. It is taught in all the schools there but you will still need to learn how to speak English if you wish to communicate better in public events or for work purpo…
8-Bahamas!
- The Bahamas has been involved into several military campaigns under British rule and as a result and owing to its military importance it became an official language of the British government even though at first there had been no native speakers either.
9- Guyana!
- The independence of Guyana had also led to an officialization of English as the second language. The status accorded it by law is very significant considering that French remains the first native language. Altogether around 80% of Guyanese are able to speak some basic English but only about one-tenth actually choose it for everyday communication.
10- Grenada!
- Grenada achieved independence in 1974 after nearly 100 years under British colonial rule. As a result, it was also made an official language by that time, which then meant that the vast majority of citizens are able to understand this native language easily even though they do normally not speak it fluently anymore today.