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English as a first language is only spoken by 259,678 people, as a second language by 182,717,239 and as a third language by 45,562,173. [4] Nigeria: 206,200,000 125,039,680: 60.64 20,000,000 9.70: 103,198,040 50.05: English is the most widespread language in the country due to the many different languages spoken, with 60 million speakers. [5]
English is a pluricentric language, which means that no one national authority sets the standard for use of the language. [96][97][98][99]Spoken English, including English used in broadcasting, generally follows national pronunciation standards that are established by custom rather than by regulation.
Although English is not de jure an official language at the national level in the United States, most states and territories within the United States have English as an official language, and only Puerto Rico uses a language other than English as a primary working language. The United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand ...
Ethnologue (2024) [] Ethnologue lists the following languages as having 50 million or more total speakers. [ 4 ] This section does not include entries that Ethnologue identifies as macrolanguages encompassing several varieties, such as Arabic, Lahnda, Persian, Malay, Pashto, and Chinese. Most spoken languages, Ethnologue, 2024 [ 4 ]
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, [1] [2] making it the largest language by number of speakers, the third largest language by number of native speakers and the most widespread language geographically.
The English language in Europe, as a native language, is mainly spoken in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Outside of these states, it has official status in Malta, the Crown Dependencies (the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey), Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (two of the British Overseas Territories).
American English (AmE), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, [b] is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. [4] English is the most widely spoken language in the United States; the de facto common language used in government, education and commerce; and an official language of most U.S. states (32 out of 50). [5]
English was introduced to Ireland twice—a medieval introduction that led to the development of the now-extinct Yola dialect, and a modern introduction in which Hiberno-English largely replaced Irish as the most widely spoken language during the 19th century, following the Act of Union of 1800.