English is a West Germanic language that was
first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca.
It is spoken as a first language by the majority populations of several sovereign
states, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia,
Ireland, New Zealand and a number of Caribbean nations; moreover, it is an
official language of almost 60 sovereign states. It is the third-most-common
native language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. It is widely
learned as a second language and is an official language of the European Union,
many Commonwealth countries and the United Nations, as well as in many world
organisations.
English arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of
England and what is now southeast Scotland. Following the extensive influence
of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom from the 17th to mid-20th
centuries through the British Empire, it has been widely propagated around the
world. Through the spread of American-dominated media and technology, English
has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua
franca in many regions.
