English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and eventually became a global lingua franca (also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language or dialect systematically used to make communication possible between groups of people who do not share a native language or dialect, particularly when not one of the speakers' native languages.). It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the area of Great Britain that later took their name, England. Both names derive from Anglia, a peninsula on the Baltic Sea.
English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. Modern English has been spreading around the world since the 17th century by the worldwide influence of the British Empire and the United States.
English is the largest language by the er of speakers, and the third most spoken native language in the world, after Standard Chinese and Spanish. It is the most widely learned second language and is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states. There are more people who have learned it as a second language than there are native speakers. It is estimated that there are over 2 billion speakers of English.
Source: Wikipedia | Art by: 6 Langs
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