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English-speaking world

January 13, 2023

Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the Anglosphere. Over two billion people speak English as of the 2000s,[1][2] making English the largest language by number of speakers, and the third largest language by number of native speakers.

  States where English or an English-based creole is the native language of the majority
  States where English is an official language, but not the most used language

England and the Scottish Lowlands, countries of the United Kingdom, are the birthplace of the English language, and the modern form of the language has been being 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 contexts such as science, navigation and law.[3] The United Kingdom remains the largest English-speaking country in Europe.[4]

The United States and India have the most total English speakers, with 283 million and 125 million, respectively. There are also 108 million in Pakistan, 79 million in Nigeria, and 64 million in the Philippines.[4] When those who speak English as a second-language are included, estimates of the number of Anglophones vary greatly, from 470 million to more than 2 billion.[2] David Crystal calculates that as of 2003 non-native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of 3:1.[5] As of 2012, India claimed to have the world's second-largest English-speaking population: the most reliable estimate is around 10% of its population (125 million people), a number that is expected to have quadrupled by 2022.[6][needs update] When native and non-native speakers are combined, English is the most widely spoken language worldwide.

Besides the major varieties of English, such as American English, British English, Canadian English, Australian English, Irish English, New Zealand English, and their sub-varieties, countries such as South Africa, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, 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, such as Ghana and Uganda, also use English as their primary official languages.

Majority English-speaking countries

Main articles: List of countries by English-speaking population and Anglosphere
 
English-speaking peoples monument in London

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";[7][8][9] they are the United States of America (with at least 231 million[clarification needed] native English speakers),[10] the United Kingdom (60 million),[11][12][13] Canada (19 million),[14] Australia (at least 17 million),[15] and New Zealand (4.8 million).[16] English is also the primary natively spoken language in Ireland. English based creoles are spoken by a majority of people in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname.[17] English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in countries such as Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Sweden.

Countries where English is an official language

Main article: List of countries and territories where English is an official language

In some countries where English is not the most spoken language, it is an official language or has some official status. These countries include Belize, Botswana, Cameroon (co-official with French), Eswatini (Swaziland), Fiji, Ghana, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, the Federated States of Micronesia, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. There also are countries where in a part of the territory English became a co-official language, in Colombia's San Andrés y Providencia, Hong Kong, Honduras's Bay Islands, and Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. This was a result of the influence of British colonization and American colonization in these areas.

India has the largest number of second-language speakers of English (see Indian English); Crystal (2004) claims that combining native and non-native speakers, India has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world. However, most scholars and research that has been conducted dispute his assertions.[18] Pakistan also has the English language (Pakistani English) as a second official language after the Urdu language as the result of British rule (Raj). Sri Lanka and the Philippines use English as their third and second official language after Sinhala and Tamil, and Filipino, respectively.

English is one of the eleven official languages that are given equal status in South Africa (South African English), where there are 4.8 million native English speakers.[19] It is also the official language in current dependent territories of Australia (Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands) and of the United States of America (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (in Puerto Rico, English is co-official with Spanish) and the US Virgin Islands),[20] and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Although the United States federal government has no official languages, English has been given official status by 32 of the 50 US state governments.[21][22] Furthermore, per United States nationality law, the process of becoming a naturalized citizen of the US entails a basic English proficiency test, which may be the most prominent example of the claim of the nation not having an official language being belied by policy realities.

English is also an important language in several former colonies and protectorates of the United Kingdom, such as Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates.

English as a global language

See also: English in computing, International English, World Englishes, World language, English as a second or foreign language, and Euro English

Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era,[23] and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language.[24][25] It is, by international treaty, the official language for aeronautical[26] and maritime[27] 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.[citation needed]

English is studied most often in the European Union, and the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 67% in favor of English ahead of 17% for German and 16% for French (as of 2012). Among some of the non-English-speaking EU countries, the following percentages of the adult population 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.[28]

Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world, and English is the most commonly used language in the sciences[23] 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 per cent of all books published in the world [Leclerc 2011][full citation needed] and 30 per cent of web content in 2011 (down from 50 per cent in 2000).[25]

This increasing use of the English language globally has had a large impact on many other languages, leading to language shift and even language death,[29] 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.[30]

References

  1. ^ "Crystal, David. The language revolution. John Wiley & Sons, 2004".
  2. ^ a b Crystal, David (2008). "Two thousand million?". English Today. 24: 3–6. doi:10.1017/S0266078408000023. S2CID 145597019.
  3. ^ The Routes of English.
  4. ^ a b "English Speakers By Country". WorldAtlas. 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  5. ^ Crystal, David (2003). English as a Global Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-521-53032-3.
  6. ^ Masani, Zareer (27 November 2012). "English or Hinglish - which will India choose?". BBC News. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. ^ Mycock, Andrew; Wellings, Ben. "The UK after Brexit: Can and Will the Anglosphere Replace the EU?" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2020. ...the core Anglosphere states – the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand...
  8. ^ Press, Stanford University (2011). The Anglosphere: A Genealogy of a Racialized Identity in International Relations | Srdjan Vucetic. www.sup.org. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804772242.
  9. ^ "Getting Real About the Anglosphere". 17 February 2020. ...from what might be called the "core" Anglosphere nations: Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States;
  10. ^ Ryan 2013, Table 1.
  11. ^ Office for National Statistics 2013, Key Points.
  12. ^ National Records of Scotland 2013.
  13. ^ Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 2012, Table KS207NI: Main Language.
  14. ^ Statistics Canada 2014.
  15. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013.
  16. ^ Statistics New Zealand 2014.
  17. ^ Ulrike Römer (15 August 2007). Sranan Tongo - An english-based creole in the republic of Suriname. GRIN. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  18. ^ Crystal 2004b.
  19. ^ Statistics South Africa 2012, Table 2.5 Population by first language spoken and province (number).
  20. ^ Nancy Morris (1995). Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity. Praeger/Greenwood. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-275-95228-0.
  21. ^ . U.S. English. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  22. ^ . U.S. English. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  23. ^ a b David Graddol (1997). (PDF). The British Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  24. ^ Crystal, David (2003a). English as a Global Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-521-53032-3. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  25. ^ a b Northrup 2013.
  26. ^ "ICAO Promotes Aviation Safety by Endorsing English Language Testing". International Civil Aviation Organization. 13 October 2011.
  27. ^ . International Maritime Organization. Archived from the original on 27 December 2003.
  28. ^ European Commission (June 2012). (PDF) (Report). Eurobarometer Special Surveys. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-07. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  29. ^ David Crystal (2000) Language Death, Preface; viii, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
  30. ^ Jambor, Paul Z. (April 2007). "English Language Imperialism: Points of View". Journal of English as an International Language. 2: 103–123.

Bibliography

Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 March 2013). "2011 Census QuickStats: Australia". Retrieved 25 March 2015.
Afhan Meytiyev (26 September 2013). "English and diplomacy" (PDF). Scotland's Census 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
Bao, Z. (2006). "Variation in Nonnative Varieties of English". In Brown, Keith (ed.). Encyclopedia of language & linguistics. Elsevier. pp. 377–380. doi:10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/04257-7. ISBN 978-0-08-044299-0.
Crystal, David (19 November 2004b). "Subcontinent Raises Its Voice". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
Crystal, David (2006). "Chapter 9: English worldwide". In Denison, David; Hogg, Richard M. (eds.). A History of the English language. Cambridge University Press. pp. 420–439. ISBN 978-0-511-16893-2.
National Records of Scotland (26 September 2013). "Census 2011: Release 2A". Scotland's Census 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
"The Routes of English". 1 August 2015.
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (11 December 2012). "Census 2011: Key Statistics for Northern Ireland December 2012" (PDF). Statistics Bulletin. Table KS207NI: Main Language. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
Northrup, David (20 March 2013). How English Became the Global Language. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-30306-6.
Office for National Statistics (4 March 2013). "Language in England and Wales, 2011". 2011 Census Analysis. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
Ryan, Camille (August 2013). (PDF). American Community Survey Reports. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
Statistics Canada (22 August 2014). "Population by mother tongue and age groups (total), 2011 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories". Retrieved 25 March 2015.
Statistics New Zealand (April 2014). (PDF). p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. Table 2.5 Population by first language spoken and province (number). ISBN 9780621413885. (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.
English and Diplomacy: http://english.fullerton.edu/publications/clnArchives/pdf/MethievLgDplmcy.pdf

January 13, 2023
english, speaking, world, speakers, english, also, known, anglophones, countries, where, english, natively, spoken, majority, population, termed, anglosphere, over, billion, people, speak, english, 2000s, update, making, english, largest, language, number, spe. Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the Anglosphere Over two billion people speak English as of the 2000s update 1 2 making English the largest language by number of speakers and the third largest language by number of native speakers States where English or an English based creole is the native language of the majority States where English is an official language but not the most used language England and the Scottish Lowlands countries of the United Kingdom are the birthplace of the English language and the modern form of the language has been being 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 contexts such as science navigation and law 3 The United Kingdom remains the largest English speaking country in Europe 4 The United States and India have the most total English speakers with 283 million and 125 million respectively There are also 108 million in Pakistan 79 million in Nigeria and 64 million in the Philippines 4 When those who speak English as a second language are included estimates of the number of Anglophones vary greatly from 470 million to more than 2 billion 2 David Crystal calculates that as of 2003 update non native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of 3 1 5 As of 2012 update India claimed to have the world s second largest English speaking population the most reliable estimate is around 10 of its population 125 million people a number that is expected to have quadrupled by 2022 6 needs update When native and non native speakers are combined English is the most widely spoken language worldwide Besides the major varieties of English such as American English British English Canadian English Australian English Irish English New Zealand English and their sub varieties countries such as South Africa India Nigeria the Philippines 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 such as Ghana and Uganda also use English as their primary official languages Contents 1 Majority English speaking countries 2 Countries where English is an official language 3 English as a global language 4 References 5 BibliographyMajority English speaking countries EditMain articles List of countries by English speaking population and Anglosphere English speaking peoples monument in London 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 7 8 9 they are the United States of America with at least 231 million clarification needed native English speakers 10 the United Kingdom 60 million 11 12 13 Canada 19 million 14 Australia at least 17 million 15 and New Zealand 4 8 million 16 English is also the primary natively spoken language in Ireland English based creoles are spoken by a majority of people in Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago Guyana The Bahamas Belize Grenada Barbados Antigua and Barbuda Dominica Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Kitts and Nevis and Suriname 17 English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in countries such as Denmark Germany the Netherlands Slovenia and Sweden Countries where English is an official language EditMain article List of countries and territories where English is an official language This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message In some countries where English is not the most spoken language it is an official language or has some official status These countries include Belize Botswana Cameroon co official with French Eswatini Swaziland Fiji Ghana India Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Liberia Malawi Malaysia Malta the Marshall Islands Mauritius the Federated States of Micronesia Namibia Nigeria Pakistan Palau Papua New Guinea the Philippines Rwanda Samoa Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore the Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Sudan South Africa South Sudan Tanzania The Gambia Uganda Zambia and Zimbabwe There also are countries where in a part of the territory English became a co official language in Colombia s San Andres y Providencia Hong Kong Honduras s Bay Islands and Nicaragua s Mosquito Coast This was a result of the influence of British colonization and American colonization in these areas India has the largest number of second language speakers of English see Indian English Crystal 2004 claims that combining native and non native speakers India has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world However most scholars and research that has been conducted dispute his assertions 18 Pakistan also has the English language Pakistani English as a second official language after the Urdu language as the result of British rule Raj Sri Lanka and the Philippines use English as their third and second official language after Sinhala and Tamil and Filipino respectively English is one of the eleven official languages that are given equal status in South Africa South African English where there are 4 8 million native English speakers 19 It is also the official language in current dependent territories of Australia Norfolk Island Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling Islands and of the United States of America American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico English is co official with Spanish and the US Virgin Islands 20 and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People s Republic of China Although the United States federal government has no official languages English has been given official status by 32 of the 50 US state governments 21 22 Furthermore per United States nationality law the process of becoming a naturalized citizen of the US entails a basic English proficiency test which may be the most prominent example of the claim of the nation not having an official language being belied by policy realities English is also an important language in several former colonies and protectorates of the United Kingdom such as Bahrain Bangladesh Brunei Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates English as a global language EditSee also English in computing International English World Englishes World language English as a second or foreign language and Euro English Because English is so widely spoken it has often been referred to as a world language the lingua franca of the modern era 23 and while it is not an official language in most countries it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language 24 25 It is by international treaty the official language for aeronautical 26 and maritime 27 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 citation needed English is studied most often in the European Union and the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 67 in favor of English ahead of 17 for German and 16 for French as of 2012 update Among some of the non English speaking EU countries the following percentages of the adult population 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 28 Books magazines and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world and English is the most commonly used language in the sciences 23 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 per cent of all books published in the world Leclerc 2011 full citation needed and 30 per cent of web content in 2011 down from 50 per cent in 2000 25 This increasing use of the English language globally has had a large impact on many other languages leading to language shift and even language death 29 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 30 References Edit Crystal David The language revolution John Wiley amp Sons 2004 a b Crystal David 2008 Two thousand million English Today 24 3 6 doi 10 1017 S0266078408000023 S2CID 145597019 The Routes of English a b English Speakers By Country WorldAtlas 2018 05 14 Retrieved 2021 12 06 Crystal David 2003 English as a Global Language 2nd ed Cambridge University Press p 69 ISBN 978 0 521 53032 3 Masani Zareer 27 November 2012 English or Hinglish which will India choose BBC News Retrieved 12 November 2019 Mycock Andrew Wellings Ben The UK after Brexit Can and Will the Anglosphere Replace the EU PDF Archived PDF from the original on 6 June 2020 the core Anglosphere states the USA the UK Canada Australia and New Zealand Press Stanford University 2011 The Anglosphere A Genealogy of a Racialized Identity in International Relations Srdjan Vucetic www sup org Stanford University Press ISBN 9780804772242 Getting Real About the Anglosphere 17 February 2020 from what might be called the core Anglosphere nations Britain Canada New Zealand Australia and the United States Ryan 2013 Table 1 Office for National Statistics 2013 Key Points National Records of Scotland 2013 Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 2012 Table KS207NI Main Language Statistics Canada 2014 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013 Statistics New Zealand 2014 Ulrike Romer 15 August 2007 Sranan Tongo An english based creole in the republic of Suriname GRIN Retrieved 2022 03 08 Crystal 2004b Statistics South Africa 2012 Table 2 5 Population by first language spoken and province number Nancy Morris 1995 Puerto Rico Culture Politics and Identity Praeger Greenwood p 62 ISBN 978 0 275 95228 0 U S English Inc U S English Archived from the original on 6 January 2010 Retrieved 21 April 2010 U S English Chairman Applauds West Virginia Bill to Declare English the States Official Language U S English Archived from the original on 1 April 2016 Retrieved 23 March 2016 a b David Graddol 1997 The Future of English PDF The British Council Archived from the original PDF on 19 February 2007 Retrieved 15 April 2007 Crystal David 2003a English as a Global Language 2nd ed Cambridge University Press p 69 ISBN 978 0 521 53032 3 Retrieved 4 February 2015 a b Northrup 2013 ICAO Promotes Aviation Safety by Endorsing English Language Testing International Civil Aviation Organization 13 October 2011 IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases International Maritime Organization Archived from the original on 27 December 2003 European Commission June 2012 Special Eurobarometer 386 Europeans and Their Languages PDF Report Eurobarometer Special Surveys Archived from the original PDF on 2015 02 07 Retrieved 12 February 2015 David Crystal 2000 Language Death Preface viii Cambridge University Press Cambridge Jambor Paul Z April 2007 English Language Imperialism Points of View Journal of English as an International Language 2 103 123 Bibliography EditAustralian Bureau of Statistics 28 March 2013 2011 Census QuickStats Australia Retrieved 25 March 2015 Afhan Meytiyev 26 September 2013 English and diplomacy PDF Scotland s Census 2011 Retrieved 25 March 2020 Bao Z 2006 Variation in Nonnative Varieties of English In Brown Keith ed Encyclopedia of language amp linguistics Elsevier pp 377 380 doi 10 1016 B0 08 044854 2 04257 7 ISBN 978 0 08 044299 0 Crystal David 19 November 2004b Subcontinent Raises Its Voice The Guardian Retrieved 4 February 2015 Crystal David 2006 Chapter 9 English worldwide In Denison David Hogg Richard M eds A History of the English language Cambridge University Press pp 420 439 ISBN 978 0 511 16893 2 National Records of Scotland 26 September 2013 Census 2011 Release 2A Scotland s Census 2011 Retrieved 25 March 2015 The Routes of English 1 August 2015 Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 11 December 2012 Census 2011 Key Statistics for Northern Ireland December 2012 PDF Statistics Bulletin Table KS207NI Main Language Retrieved 16 December 2014 Northrup David 20 March 2013 How English Became the Global Language Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978 1 137 30306 6 Office for National Statistics 4 March 2013 Language in England and Wales 2011 2011 Census Analysis Retrieved 16 December 2014 Ryan Camille August 2013 Language Use in the United States 2011 PDF American Community Survey Reports p 1 Archived from the original PDF on 2016 02 05 Retrieved 16 December 2014 Statistics Canada 22 August 2014 Population by mother tongue and age groups total 2011 counts for Canada provinces and territories Retrieved 25 March 2015 Statistics New Zealand April 2014 2013 QuickStats About Culture and Identity PDF p 23 Archived from the original PDF on 15 January 2015 Retrieved 25 March 2015 Census 2011 Census in brief PDF Pretoria Statistics South Africa 2012 Table 2 5 Population by first language spoken and province number ISBN 9780621413885 Archived PDF from the original on 13 May 2015 English and Diplomacy http english fullerton edu publications clnArchives pdf MethievLgDplmcy pdf Portals Language Australia Canada New Zealand South Africa United Kingdom United States World Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title English speaking world amp oldid 1132538935, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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