The conditions have been perfect for English to flourish. When you take one English-speaking country that gets a century named after it (the British Imperial Century) and follow it up with another English-speaking country that gets a subsequent century named after it (the American Century), you’re asking for, well, English. Add to this sequence a series of technological advances, and the ability to spread an already expanding language via things like consumer products, film, and music is pretty insane. What we have as a result is a full-blown lingua franca like the world has never seen. Let’s embrace the moment and delve a little further. Here is the English language in 10 key numbers.
450
The completely approximate year in which the roots of English were planted. Around this time, various Germanic tribes invaded modern-day England. Interaction between these tribes and indigenous British groups eventually resulted in an Anglo-Saxon identity and an associated language that has been termed Old English. After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, French and Latin words began infiltrating the language, moving it closer to what we know today.
3 million
The estimated number of English speakers in the world in the late 1400s. They were all basically confined to England. That’s according to Babel, one of my favorite books about language.
1.35 billion
The estimated number of English speakers in the world today. Some estimates have this number in the range of 1.8 billion. Of course, this latter figure would include many whose proficiency in the language might be up for debate. Either way, the vast majority of English speakers are non-native speakers, as native speakers make up about 360 million of the overall figure.
54
The number of countries in which English is a de jure (by law) official language. This number does not include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand, where the widely-spoken English is the de facto (not by law) official language. It also does not include many other countries in which English is similarly a de facto official language, albeit not as the primary language.
1604
The year in which what some consider to be the first English dictionary was issued. Compiled by Robert Cawdrey and published in London, the first edition contained 2,543 words.
1,022,000
One estimate of the number of words in the English language. This figure includes different forms of the same words, highly technical words, and archaic words. Another estimate is 171,000, as in the number of words that are in current use. But don’t worry – most native adult speakers know between 20,000 and 35,000 words.
520
The number of new words added by Merriam-Webster to its dictionary in January 2021. The previous round of addition had been in April 2020, at which time 535 words were added.
445
The estimated number of living languages in the Indo-European language family, of which English is a part. (English is in the Germanic branch of this family.) All the languages in the Indo-European family are thought to have descended from Proto-Indo-European, a reconstructed language that was spoken around 5000 years ago (perhaps north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea). Included in the family are languages ranging from Spanish to Russian to Hindi/Urdu.
160
The estimated number of English dialects in the world. Of course, determining what exactly constitutes a dialect is not perfectly clear. In the United States, we can at least agree that someone from Maine might not sound exactly like someone from Mississippi.
1
The number of ways to convey the concept of you in modern English. That’s singular, plural, informal, and formal. Many other languages have specific words to convey you as a plural and/or formal concept. To compensate for the formality issue, English speakers are notorious for using please and thank you, like a lot.
Will English remain the language beast that it is today? Will it become even more dominant? Or will it recede if the next century is named after a non-English-speaking country? Only time will tell. But for now, it’s definitely not a bad language to know.
