| Geographical Distribution |
English is primarily spoken in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand as a native language. It serves as an official language in 67 countries including India, Nigeria, South Africa, and Singapore. Total speakers: 1.5+ billion worldwide (380M native + 1.2B second language).
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| Alphabet |
Uses the Latin alphabet consisting of 26 letters. Written from left to right with both uppercase and lowercase forms. The modern English alphabet evolved from the Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
🔊 Listen to alphabet pronunciation
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| Vowels |
English has 5 vowel letters (A, E, I, O, U) but approximately 20 vowel sounds including short vowels (cat, bed, sit, hot, cut), long vowels (cake, bee, bike, boat, cube), and diphthongs (boy, cow, care). The letter Y sometimes acts as a vowel.
🔊 Practice vowel sounds
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| Consonants |
English has 21 consonant letters representing approximately 24 consonant sounds. Includes unique sounds like th (think, this), ng (ring), and sh (ship). Features both voiced and voiceless consonants with complex pronunciation rules.
B C D F G H J K L M N P Q R S T V W X Y Z
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| Phonetics |
English phonetics include approximately 44 phonemes (individual sounds). Notable features include stress-timed rhythm, silent letters, and irregular spelling patterns. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is commonly used to represent English sounds accurately.
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| Grammar and Syntax |
Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order predominates. English grammar features minimal inflection, extensive use of auxiliary verbs, and complex tense systems. Relies heavily on word order and prepositions rather than case endings found in other languages.
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| Loanwords |
English contains extensive loanwords from Latin, French, German, Greek, and over 350 other languages. Approximately 60% of English vocabulary comes from Latin and French. Modern English continues to adopt words from global languages and technology.
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| Language Family |
Part of the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, closely related to German, Dutch, and Frisian. Evolved from Anglo-Saxon with significant Norman French influence after 1066. Also called a global lingua franca.
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| Writing Systems |
Uses the Latin alphabet with 26 letters in both uppercase and lowercase forms. English spelling is notoriously irregular due to historical sound changes and borrowings from multiple languages. Features unique punctuation and capitalization rules.
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| Writing System History |
English writing evolved from Anglo-Saxon runes to Latin script around 7th century. The printing press (1476) and King James Bible (1611) standardized spelling. Modern English developed through Great Vowel Shift (1400-1700). Literary giants like Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Dickens shaped the language.
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| Total Number of Speakers |
Approximately 1.5 billion people speak English as first, second, or foreign language.
Native speakers: 380 million | Second language: 750 million | Foreign language learners: 1.5 billion.
🔊 Learn numbers in English
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