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However, there is still evidence of a division, between "academic" words and "common" words. Many words for foods use French-derived vocabulary, while the word for the corresponding animal is of Germanic (Old English) origin: for example, pork and swine, mutton and lamb, or beef and cow.
As of 2024, there are 57 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities where English is an official language. Many administrative divisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level. Most states where English is an official language are former territories of the British Empire.
The European Union is a supranational union composed of 27 member states. The total English-speaking population of the European Union and the United Kingdom combined (2012) is 256,876,220 [1] (out of a total population of 500,000,000, [2] i.e. 51%) including 65,478,252 native speakers and 191,397,968 non-native speakers, and would be ranked 2nd if it were included.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the Anglosphere as "the countries of the world in which the English language and cultural values predominate". [7] [b] However the Anglosphere is usually not considered to include all countries where English is an official language, so it is not synonymous with anglophone. [8] [better source needed]
See List of English words with disputed usage for words that are used in ways that are deprecated by some usage writers but are condoned by some dictionaries. There may be regional variations in grammar, orthography, and word-use, especially between different English-speaking countries.
Braj Kachru divides the use of English into three concentric circles. [8]The inner circle is the traditional base of English and includes countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland and the anglophone populations of the former British colonies of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and various islands of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.
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.
Additionally, the use of English is widespread in education and the judiciary in the country. India: There are 22 official languages in the states and territories of India (Including Hindi and English, the languages with official use by the Union Government [180]). The largest, Hindi, is spoken natively by 26% of the population. [181]