English Language

Geographic distribution

Distribution of native English speakers by dialect

It is primary language in a number of countries: Australia (Australian English), the Bahamas, Barbados (Caribbean English), Bermuda, Dominica, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica (Jamaican English), New Zealand (New Zealand English), Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom (British English) and the United States of America (American English).

English is also one of the primary languages of Belize (with Spanish), Canada (with French), India (with Hindi and 21 other state languages), Ireland (with Irish), Singapore (with Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and other Asian languages) and South Africa (along with Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, and Northern Sotho).

In Hong Kong, English is an official language and is widely used in business activities. It is taught from kindergarten level, and is the medium of instruction for a few primary schools, many secondary schools and all universities. A substantial number of students acquire native-speaker level. It is so widely used and spoken that it is inadequate to say it is merely a second or foreign language.

Although English is not an official language of the United States federal government, it is for 27 of the 50 state governments (Hawaii also designated Hawaiian as an official language). It is an official language, but not native, in Cameroon, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Ghana, Gambia, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

English is the most widely used "second" and "learning" language in the world, and as such, many linguists believe, it is no longer the exclusive cultural emblem of "native English speakers," but rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it grows in use. Others theorise that there are limits to how far English can go in suiting everyone for communication purposes. It is the language most often studied as a foreign language in Europe (32.6 percent), followed by French, German and Spanish. It is also the most studied in Japan, South Korea and in the People's Republic of China, where it is compulsory for most high school students.

Dialects and regional variants

English counts with 25 varieties, many of which are also divided in sub-varieties. Here you find a list of English dialects:
AAVE (Ebonics)
American English
Australian English
British English
Canadian English
Caribbean English
Commonwealth English
English English
Hawaiian English
Hiberno-English
Highland English
Hong Kong English
Indian English
International English
Jamaican English
Liberian English
Malaysian English
Newfoundland English
New Zealand English
Philippine English
Scottish English
Singaporean English
South African English
Standard English
Welsh English

The expansiveness of the British and the Americans has spread English throughout the globe. It is now the third-most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. As such, it has bred a variety of English dialects and English-based creoles and pidgins.

The major varieties of English in most cases contain several sub-varieties, such as Cockney within British English, Newfoundland English within Canadian English, and African American Vernacular English ("Ebonics") within American English. English is considered a pluricentric language, with no variety being clearly considered the only standard.

Some people dispute the status of Scots as a closely related separate language from English and consider it a group of English dialects. Scots has a long tradition as a separate written and spoken language. Pronunciation, grammar and lexis differ, sometimes substantially, from other Anglican varieties including Scottish English.

Due to English's wide use as a second language, English speakers can have many different accents, which may identify the speaker's native dialect or language.

Many countries around the world have blended English words and phrases into their everyday speech and refer to the result by a colloquial name that implies its bilingual origins, which parallels the English language's own addiction to loan words and borrowings. Named examples of these ad-hoc constructions, distinct from pidgin and Creole languages, include English, Wasei-eigo, Franglais and Spanglish. Europanto combines many languages but has an English core.

Constructed variants of English