Language Diversity - Language Diversity - Map of Minorities & Regional and Minority Languages of Europe for and about linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe.

Language

English (English)

Description

English belongs to the West-Germanic group of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family.

Over a period of centuries, especially due to the settlement of America and the colonial policies of Great Britain in Australia, Africa and India, English has become a global language, that nowadays is the most widely spread language. In schools in many countries, English is taught as the first foreign language and it is an official language of most international organisations.

English has an official status in 59 states, among them are:

  • United States: 210 million speakers
  • United Kingdom: 58 million speakers
  • Canada: 17,1 million speakers
  • Australia: 16 million speakers
  • Ireland: 3,5 million speakers
  • South Africa: 3,5 million speakers
  • New Zealand: 3 million speakers
  • India:  350.000 million speakers

(the numbers refer to mother tongue speakers)

Important Words

Hello

Bye

Thank you

Please

Cheers

Use your tongue not just for kissing

You are not alone

Special

In comparison with its closest relatives Frisian, Low German and Dutch, the English language has been developing into a very distinct direction during its history. Its vocabulary was significantly influenced by its close contact to the French language.

 

 

Language families

  1. Indo-European
  2. Germanic
  3. West-Germanic
  4. English