English language: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Did You Know?

English has become so ubiquitous that all pilots, regardless of their native language, must be able to communicate in English.
The word "I" is the oldest word in the English language, as well as the the shortest and most frequently used. The shortest grammatically correct sentence in English is "I am".
Due to varying meanings of the word buffalo and the fact that Buffalo is the name of a city in the U.S. state of New York, the sentence "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is grammatically correct.
A quirk of the English language: the nonword "ghoti" can be pronounced as 'fish', with the 'gh' from words such as 'tough', the 'o' from words such as 'women', and the 'ti' from words such as 'station'.

Photos and Videos

Global use of the English language

Thematic map of Eurasia showing the approximate geographic distribution of Indo-European language families, each represented by a different color. Areas include Celtic in western Europe, Germanic in northern and central Europe, Romance in southwestern Europe, Slavic in eastern Europe and Russia, and Indo-Iranian languages in South Asia. Non-Indo-European language regions and areas of common bilingualism are also indicated.

International Phonetic Alphabet

Alphabet sampler

Map of Britain showing the distribution of Old English dialects, with regions labeled as Northumbrian, Mercian, West Saxon, and Kentish in green, and neighboring Celtic-speaking areas of Strathclyde, North Wales, and West Wales in orange. Red lines indicate language boundaries and gray lines mark dialect boundaries, with key towns and historical landmarks such as Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall also shown.

Map of England and surrounding regions during the Middle English period, divided by bold black lines into major dialect areas: Northern, West Midland, East Midland, South Western, and South Eastern. Red lines mark language boundaries with Celtic languages-Scots Gaelic, Welsh, and Cornish-along the edges of Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall.

Title page of Isaac Newton's book Opticks, featuring large decorative text and subtitles about the study of light, with publication information at the bottom.

Dictionary page showing Samuel Johnson's 1755 definition of oats, including the remark that in England oats are fed to horses but in Scotland they support the people, with literary quotations.

World map highlighting countries and regions in green where English is a national, primary, or widely spoken language. These areas include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, much of the Caribbean, parts of Africa and South Asia, and several Pacific islands.

Map of the United States showing major American English dialect regions, each shaded in a different color. The labeled areas include Western, North Central, Northern, Midland, Southern, Northern New England, and New York City, with boundaries highlighting the geographic distribution of each dialect.

Listen to a demonstration of the original pronunciation of Shakespeare's English and how it differs from modern English

Learn about the history of the dictionary, from Dr. Samuel Johnson's dictionary of the English language to the Oxford English Dictionary

Know how the growth of the British Empire influenced the growth of the English language

Discover how internet English affects the spoken English language

Know the contributions of the King James Bible in shaping the English language

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

Early Modern English language British English Austral English African English List of English Words from India Lay, Lie, Lied, Lain: When Do We Use Which?What Did Shakespeare Sound Like?Which African countries speak English as an official language?Middle English language Is it bear or bare in mind?Yiddish language German language Dutch language Frisian language Luxembourgish language

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

default image

Edith Somerville

Irish writer

default image

Violet Martin

Irish writer

Painting of Samuel Johnson showing Johnson seated at a desk with a quill in hand and papers before him, wearing a brown coat and white wig.

Samuel Johnson

English author

Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire

French author

Portrait of poet Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope

English author

Sir Richard Burton

Sir Richard Burton

British scholar and explorer

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

English artist

Derek Walcott

Derek Walcott

West Indian poet

default image

Robert Lepage

Canadian writer, director, designer, and actor

Kenneth Rexroth and his daughter

Kenneth Rexroth

American poet and painter

Isaac Barrow, pencil drawing by David Loggan, 1676; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Isaac Barrow

English mathematician

default image

Kamala Markandaya

Indian author

default image

Witi Ihimaera

New Zealand author

default image

Allen Curnow

New Zealand author

default image

Ernest F. Fenollosa

American orientalist and art critic

Schlegel, August Wilhelm von

August Wilhelm von Schlegel

German scholar and critic

default image

Robert Bly

American author

default image

Cesare Pavese

Italian author

H.D.

H.D.

American poet

Hearn, Lafcadio

Lafcadio Hearn

British-born writer and translator

Misspelled words (sequel) thumbnail image (by EB) on original Getty image in background (crumpled piece of paper)

Commonly Misspelled Words Vol. 2 Quiz

A gold foil number 12 balloon is held high in the air by male hands; photo taken outdoors on a bright sunny day, the sky is blue with some clouds. A vintage style effects has been added to the image.

12-Letter Words Quiz

Guinea pig in purple glasses resting on an open book.

Challenging Words You Should Know Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2

Illustration of a silhouette of a man ready to cut messy balls of red thread with scissors.

Commonly Confused Words Vocabulary Quiz, Vol. 2

Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) tilts its head outside its burrow on Marco Island, Florida. (birds)

Curious Origins of Everyday Words Quiz

White rubber duck among yellow ducks stands out from the crowd. Diversity, individuality, difference, minority or independence in business. SEE CONTENT NOTES!

Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz

A roulette wheel showing the number 13. 13 letter word quiz.

13-Letter Word Quiz

Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).

Which Came First? Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2

Child Detective in trench coat and fedora looking at large white footprints with a magnifying glass. (investigate, inspect, detect, private investigator, boy, kid)

Spot the Misspelled Word Quiz

Misspelled words thumbnail image (by EB) on original Getty image in background (crumpled piece of paper)

Commonly Misspelled Words Quiz

African hedgehog on an open book against a white background.

Challenging Words You Should Know Vocabulary Quiz

Child tracing letters of the alphabet

English 101

Man screaming with alphabet letters flying from his mouth (anger, rage, aggression, emotions).

Words with Negative Connotations Quiz

Chicken and an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, birds).

Which Came First? Vocabulary Quiz

Music Book, music note, scale, sheet music

More Italian Words Commonly Used in English

Newly remodeled science classroom in a high school.

How Quickly Can You Complete a 60-Question Vocab Quiz?

Pages of a dictionary from England (English dictionary, British dictionary, United Kingdom, words, opened book.

Ultimate Vocabulary Test: Part One

Hand with pencil writing on page. (handwriting; write)

Word Nerd Quiz

Buddhist engravings on wall in Thailand. Hands on wall. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, science and technology, geography and travel, explore discovery

Languages & Alphabets

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) oil on panel by unknown artist, circa 1575; in the National Portrait Gallery, London. NPG2082

Elizabethan Vocabulary Quiz

Pages of a dictionary from England (English dictionary, British dictionary, United Kingdom, words, opened book.

Which English Words Have Native American Origins?

Pages of a dictionary from England (English dictionary, British dictionary, United Kingdom, words, opened book.

Ultimate Vocabulary Test: Part Two

Broken pencil on a standardized test. (testing, education, exam, SAT test)

Challenging Standardized Test Words Quiz: Vol. 2

High school student frowns and feeling stressed after reading question about SAT test examination in a classroom (testing, education, teenager)

Challenging Standardized Test Words Quiz: Vol. 1

Commonly Confused Words Vocabulary Quiz

Fiery heart or heart made of flames with a dark concrete wall background. (love, Valentine's Day)

Love It or Hate It Vocabulary Quiz

Brown chihuahua sitting on the floor, resting and squinting at a camera on a white brick wall background. (dogs, pets)

What Did You Just Call Me? Vocabulary Quiz

Yellow speech post it balloon with exclamation marks and question marks. Exclamation point, speech bubble

Vocabulary Quiz

Child's alphabet blocks

ABCs of English

9:024-25 Law: Learning the Rules, students voting for longer morning or afternoon recess, teacher tallies votes on the chalkboard

Plain English