The short history of English

English is the world's leading international language. It is the principal language spoken in Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and some other countries such as Uganda and Botswana. Almost 400 million people in the world speak English as their first language (estimates of the exact number vary considerably)- about the same number as Spanish, but less than Mandarin Chinese or Hindi.


In addition, over 1,000 million (1 billion) people worldwide speak English as a second language. Many more can get by in English
. English is the main second language in India, South Africa and many parts of Africa and Asia. But - more and more - it is also the language of international commerce, of business, of diplomacy and of tourism.
Source: http://linguapress.com/grammar/english.htm