English is a West Germanic language heavily influenced, in comparison with other Germanic languages, by French and Latin. It is the dominant language in the United Kingdom as well as many former territories of the British Empire (both outside and inside the current Commonwealth of Nations) such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, and others, particularly those in the Anglophone Caribbean. It is also an important or official language in many countries formerly under British or American rule, such as India, Nigeria, South Africa, and the Philippines.

English is currently one of the most widely spoken and written languages worldwide, with more than 300 million native speakers. Only Chinese , Hindi and Spanish have many more native speakers. English is also the most widely spoken of the Germanic languages.

English was spread to many parts of the world through the expansion of the British Empire during the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It became a dominant language in countries colonised by the British, but it did not acquire a lingua franca status in other parts of the world until the mid to late 20th century. Following World War II the economic and cultural influence of the United States increased dramatically and English permeated other cultures, chiefly through the development of telecommunications technology. The English Language: A Guided Tour of the Language, David Crystal, Penguin 2002, ISBN: 0141003960

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Spending new years eve w/#tourists who don't speak english. Its ok cuz the language of needy and rude is universal.
aKan_BoogieCity (Alan Kan) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:40:55 -0000
Spending new years eve w/#tourists who don't speak english. Its ok cuz the language of needy and rude is universal.
Baby I was born that far away so,I speak English as a se-cond language. XP
linnlee (Livia Araujo) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:37:02 -0000
Baby I was born that far away so,I speak English as a se-cond language. XP
i have now set my language to English (UK) on facebook. i say everything in a british accent (:
maryssasaywuh (maryssa lindsay) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:36:51 -0000
i have now set my language to English (UK) on facebook. i say everything in a british accent (:
Studies involving boredom & sleep depravation clearly show that the funnest word to say in the English language is... "Plankton."
kevin_burdick (Kevin Burdick) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:35:23 -0000
Studies involving boredom & sleep depravation clearly show that the funnest word to say in the English language is... "Plankton."
@urbanfly lol! I knew you are going to like it;) 1 of those words which make me cringe! I love English language & hate 2 see it raped!
Kisandie (Andrea Kiss) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:35:06 -0000
@urbanfly lol! I knew you are going to like it;) 1 of those words which make me cringe! I love English language & hate 2 see it raped!
in which language should I write in my blog? portuguese or english?
Sara_Pinto (Sara Pinto ✔) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:25:23 -0000
in which language should I write in my blog? portuguese or english?

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