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English
- Date Found: Unknown
- Used By: Everyone, including you.
The English language is the most widely spoken language on Earth (while more people speak Chinese, the speakers are limited to China, while English as a language is spread throughout many countries). It is the vernacular language of the United Kingdom, United States, much of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is also a language of business and an official language in India, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ghana, and many other countries. In many non-English speaking countries, English is the main foreign language learned in schools. The dominance of the UK and later the US lead to the proliferation of English in world commerce, science, and other fields.
As a consequence, English is the dominant language in computing, and of the internet. Many early computing systems were developed for English speakers, and many programming languages were developed to be understood by Anglophones. Many early text systems, like ASCII, did not have support for other languages. Before Unicode was developed, it was almost impossible to accurately represent other languages in text.
Many famous American websites began with English editions, and branched into other languages (Google, Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, etc.). Also the "int" section of Krautchan, a German website, started after the demise of Britchan, is in English in order to appeal to Britons and to non-German speakers from various countries.
Because the owner of Oh Internet! is a native English speaker from the United States, Oh Internet! is in English. Encyclopedia Dramatica, Oh Internet!'s predecessor, was an English-language website.
Common usage
English is used naturally by native speakers in all contexts. It is also used in many contexts by non-native speakers from countries where English is an official language - for instance when the content is formal, or is aimed at all segments of the country's society. People from non-English speaking countries post messages and content in English so that the messages and content are widely understood by people from many countries and linguistic backgrounds.
Example Sentences
- I need to brush up on my English lessons so I can learn Java and C++.
- The author of Anders Loves Maria, a Swedish webcomic, wrote the primary edition in English so that it could be widely understood by many readers.
Images
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 Some anglophones have a very, very unwarranted English importance, as if other languages don't have the right to exist |
 While English is important, it's not mandatory in every community |
 But if you live in the United States, United Kingdom, (most of) Canada, and other English-speaking territories, English is very essential |
 More regional differences between the US and the UK |
 American English vs. British English |
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Some anglophones have a very, very unwarranted English importance, as if other languages don't have the right to exist |
While English is important, it's not mandatory in every community |
But if you live in the United States, United Kingdom, (most of) Canada, and other English-speaking territories, English is very essential |
More regional differences between the US and the UK |
American English vs. British English |
