English originated from Germanic dialects brought to Britain by Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. It is now spoken by over 1.3 billion people as either a first or second language. English is the third most commonly spoken native language worldwide, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. It is also widely learned and used as a lingua franca, being an official language of many countries and international organizations.
2. English is a West Germanic language that was
first spoken in early medieval England and is
now a global lingua franca.
Introduction
3. It is spoken as a first language by the majority populations of
several sovereign states, including the United Kingdom,
the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and
a number of Caribbean nations; and it is an official
language of almost 60 sovereign states.
As a First Language
4. English is the third-most-common native
language in the world, after Mandarin
Chinese and Spanish.
Third-most-common native language
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5. It is widely learned as a second language and is
an official language of the European Union,
many Commonwealth countries and the United
Nations, as well as in many world
organisations.
English as a Second Language
6. Historically, English originated from the fusion of
closely related dialects, now collectively termed Old
English, which were brought to the eastern coast of
Great Britain by Germanic settlers (Anglo-Saxons) by
the 5th century.
History
7. The word English is derived from the name of
the Angles, and ultimately from their ancestral
region of Angeln(in what is now Schleswig-
Holstein).
History
8. The language was also influenced early on by
the Old Norse language through Viking
invasions in the 9th and 10th centuries.
History
9. Native Speakers
L1: 430 million people speak English as their first language (2013)
L2: 950 million people speak English as their second language (2013)
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13. Official Language
Countries where English is an official or de facto official language, or
national language, and is spoken natively by the majority of the population
Countries where it is an official but not primary language
14. Countries where English is a major language
Countries where English is spoken natively by the majority of
the population.
15. English as a global language
Percent of national populations with knowledge of English
80-100%
60-80%
40-60%
20-40%
0-20%
16. English as a global language
Because English is so widely spoken, it has often
been referred to as a "world language", the lingua
franca of the modern era, and while it is not an
official language in most countries, it is currently the
language most often taught as a foreign language.
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17. English as a global language
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).
