English language

English is a West Germanic language first spoken in medieval England and is now the most widely used language around the world. The English language is spoken as a first language by several sovereign states such as the United Kingdom, United States, and Ireland. English is the third most common language in the world after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

The English language is widely learned as a second language around the world and is the official language of the European Union and many countries in the United Nations. Today, over 360 million people speak the English language.