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English-speaking world

January 19, 2024

This article is about countries around the world that use English. For countries with cultural and linguistic connections to England, see Anglosphere.

The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories where English is either an official, administrative, or cultural language. As of the 2000s, between one billion to two billion people globally speak English,[1][2] making it the largest language by number of speakers, and the third largest language by number of native speakers, as well as the most geographically widespread language. The regions where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population, due to cultural connections to England, are termed "the Anglosphere". Speakers of English are called Anglophones.

English language distribution
  Majority native 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 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 States and India have the most total English speakers, with 306 million and 265 million, 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] When factoring in those who speak English as a second language, estimates of the total number of Anglophones vary greatly, from 1.5 billion to 2 billion.[2] David Crystal calculates that as of 2003 non-native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of 3:1.[6]

Besides the major varieties of English, namely 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 if it is not the native language of the majority of the population.

Majority English-speaking countries edit

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, 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.[10]

While English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in a handful of countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, 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.[11]

Countries where English is an official language edit

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

English is an official language (de facto and de jure) of the following countries and territories.[12]

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, such as Bahrain, Brunei, Egypt, Kuwait, Malaysia Qatar, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates.

English as a global language edit

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,[13] and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language.[6][14] 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.[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 favour 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.[17]

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[13] 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][full citation needed] and 30% of web content in 2011 (down from 50% in 2000).[14]

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,[18] and to claims of linguistic imperialism.[citation needed] English itself has become more open to language shift as multiple regional varieties feed back into the language as a whole.[19]

References edit

  1. ^ Crystal, David (2004). The language revolution. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-745-63313-8.
  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. ^ English 2023-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, Ethnologue, Dallas, Texas: SIL International., 2022.
  5. ^ "What are the top 200 most spoken languages?". Ethnologue. 2022. from the original on 2023-06-18. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  6. ^ a b Crystal, David (2003). English as a Global Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-521-53032-3. from the original on 2023-04-15. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  7. ^ Mycock, Andrew; Wellings, Ben (July 2019). "The UK after Brexit: Can and Will the Anglosphere Replace the EU?" (PDF). Cicero Foundation. (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2020. ...the core Anglosphere states – the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand...
  8. ^ Vucetic, Srdjan (2011). The Anglosphere: A Genealogy of a Racialized Identity in International Relations. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804772242.
  9. ^ Gregg, Samuel (17 February 2020). "Getting Real About the Anglosphere". Law & Liberty. from the original on Oct 17, 2022. ...from what might be called the "core" Anglosphere nations: Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States;
  10. ^ Lloyd, John (2000). "The Anglosphere Project". New Statesman. from the original on 13 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  11. ^ "The Anglosphere and its Others: The 'English-speaking Peoples' in a Changing World Order – British Academy". British Academy. from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  12. ^ "Field Listing - Languages". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  13. ^ a b David Graddol (1997). (PDF). The British Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  14. ^ a b Northrup 2013.
  15. ^ "ICAO Promotes Aviation Safety by Endorsing English Language Testing". International Civil Aviation Organization. 13 October 2011. from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  16. ^ . International Maritime Organization. Archived from the original on 27 December 2003.
  17. ^ European Commission (June 2012). (PDF) (Report). Eurobarometer Special Surveys. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-07. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  18. ^ David Crystal (2000) Language Death, Preface; viii, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
  19. ^ Jambor, Paul Z. (April 2007). "English Language Imperialism: Points of View". Journal of English as an International Language. 2: 103–123. from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2014-06-16.

Bibliography edit

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). . Archived from the original on Sep 23, 2015. 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

January 19, 2024
english, speaking, world, this, article, about, countries, around, world, that, english, countries, with, cultural, linguistic, connections, england, anglosphere, comprises, countries, territories, where, english, either, official, administrative, cultural, la. This article is about countries around the world that use English For countries with cultural and linguistic connections to England see Anglosphere The English speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories where English is either an official administrative or cultural language As of the 2000s between one billion to two billion people globally speak English 1 2 making it the largest language by number of speakers and the third largest language by number of native speakers as well as the most geographically widespread language The regions where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population due to cultural connections to England are termed the Anglosphere Speakers of English are called Anglophones English language distribution Majority native languageEngland 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 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 States and India have the most total English speakers with 306 million and 265 million 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 When factoring in those who speak English as a second language estimates of the total number of Anglophones vary greatly from 1 5 billion to 2 billion 2 David Crystal calculates that as of 2003 update non native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of 3 1 6 Besides the major varieties of English namely 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 if it is not the native language of the majority of the population 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 nbsp English speaking peoples monument in LondonEnglish 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 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 10 While English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in a handful of countries such as Denmark the Netherlands 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 11 Countries where English is an official language editMain article List of countries and territories where English is an official language English is an official language de facto and de jure of the following countries and territories 12 North America Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Curacao Dominica Grenada Jamaica Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States United States Virgin Islands South America Falkland Islands Guyana Europe Akrotiri and Dhekelia Gibraltar Guernsey Ireland Isle of Man Jersey Malta United Kingdom Africa Botswana Cameroon Eswatini Gambia Ghana Kenya Lesotho Liberia Malawi Mauritius Namibia Nigeria Rwanda Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Sierra Leone South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Asia Christmas Island Cocos Keeling Islands Hong Kong India Pakistan Philippines Singapore Oceania Australia American Samoa Cook Islands Fiji Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Palau Papua New Guinea Pitcairn Islands Samoa Solomon Islands Tokelau Tuvalu VanuatuAlthough 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 such as Bahrain Brunei Egypt Kuwait Malaysia Qatar Sri Lanka and 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 13 and while it is not an official language in most countries it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language 6 14 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 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 favour 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 17 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 13 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 full citation needed and 30 of web content in 2011 down from 50 in 2000 14 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 18 and to claims of linguistic imperialism citation needed English itself has become more open to language shift as multiple regional varieties feed back into the language as a whole 19 References edit Crystal David 2004 The language revolution John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 978 0 745 63313 8 a b Crystal David 2008 Two thousand million English Today 24 3 6 doi 10 1017 S0266078408000023 S2CID 145597019 The Routes of English English Archived 2023 03 09 at the Wayback Machine Ethnologue Dallas Texas SIL International 2022 What are the top 200 most spoken languages Ethnologue 2022 Archived from the original on 2023 06 18 Retrieved 2023 05 13 a b Crystal David 2003 English as a Global Language 2nd ed Cambridge University Press p 69 ISBN 978 0 521 53032 3 Archived from the original on 2023 04 15 Retrieved 2023 03 19 Mycock Andrew Wellings Ben July 2019 The UK after Brexit Can and Will the Anglosphere Replace the EU PDF Cicero Foundation Archived PDF from the original on 6 June 2020 the core Anglosphere states the USA the UK Canada Australia and New Zealand Vucetic Srdjan 2011 The Anglosphere A Genealogy of a Racialized Identity in International Relations Stanford University Press ISBN 9780804772242 Gregg Samuel 17 February 2020 Getting Real About the Anglosphere Law amp Liberty Archived from the original on Oct 17 2022 from what might be called the core Anglosphere nations Britain Canada New Zealand Australia and the United States Lloyd John 2000 The Anglosphere Project New Statesman Archived from the original on 13 December 2015 Retrieved 30 November 2012 The Anglosphere and its Others The English speaking Peoples in a Changing World Order British Academy British Academy Archived from the original on 2017 04 22 Retrieved 2023 05 20 Field Listing Languages The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency Retrieved 2023 07 16 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 a b Northrup 2013 ICAO Promotes Aviation Safety by Endorsing English Language Testing International Civil Aviation Organization 13 October 2011 Archived from the original on 29 June 2014 Retrieved 16 June 2014 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 Archived from the original on 2013 09 25 Retrieved 2014 06 16 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 Archived from the original on Sep 23 2015 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 Portals nbsp Language nbsp Australia nbsp Canada nbsp Ireland nbsp New Zealand nbsp South Africa nbsp United Kingdom nbsp United States nbsp World Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title English speaking world amp oldid 1196443860, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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