The world of languages is fascinating and each one of them has its history and its details. We tell you very interesting English curiosities. If you want to get certified in this very useful language quickly, come with us Tefl Spain.
Even if you consider yourself an expert in this language, we are sure that you will not know all the curiosities and that our Tefl Spain course has prepared:
The language with the greatest international presence, considered the universal language:
This is the easiest, but also the most relevant of these fun facts. What do we mean this? Well, it is the official language in more than 60 countries. The reason: the British colonization that began in the early seventeenth century. Hence, it is the national language in countries as diverse as Kiribati, Singapore or Tonga (a monarchical country in Oceania). This fact makes it the most important language in the world today. Although it is not the most talked about. This merit goes to the Chinese, in the first place, and the Spanish, with a silver medal in between. The demand for English teachers is growing every day, and you can become one by taking a Tefl Online Course with us.
Where do you have a greater number of speakers?
The United States is the country with the largest number of English speakers. In second place is India, followed by Pakistan and Nigeria. United Kingdom is relegated to fifth place. Although this is the country where the highest percentage of the population speaks English.
Perhaps this data does not surprise you, but who is in second, third and other positions does. The second place we have India. And it is that 12% of the population of this country has English as their first language (the rest are divided between Hindi, the other official language, and the more than 1000 minority languages that India has).
In third place Pakistan (88 million) and occupying the fourth place is Nigeria (79 million). The United Kingdom is relegated to fifth place (59 million. Of course, the country in which the highest percentage of the population speaks English. 98%).
It is the only important language that does not have its Royal Academy:
It does not have an organization to watch over it, as opposed to the Académie Française, the Royal Spanish Academy and the German Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung. These organizations are responsible for monitoring the evolution of their respective languages in terms of usage, vocabulary and grammar.
Its origins:
English actually has its origins in what we now know as northwestern Germany and the Netherlands.
Number 1 on the internet:
More than 80% of the information stored on computers around the world is written in English.
British English:
What we know today as a British accent began to be used as such in and around London at the time of the American Revolution.
“E” and “R”:
What do these two letters of English have that makes them the queens? Basically, these are the letters most used by English speakers, the “E” being the most prominent. In third position we have the ‘T’. However, it is the ‘S’ who begins a greater number of words. Take good note of them if you ever want to participate in “The Wheel of Fortune” English version.
Dictionary:
The first dictionary of the English language was written in 1755. Every year about four thousand words are added to the dictionary of the English language.
The alphabet:
The English alphabet has only 26 letters, but 44 different sounds. That is one of the reasons why Spaniards have so many problems with pronunciation, since we are used to words being read the same way they are written.
How many words does it have?
English has approximately 1,000,000 words (to give you an idea, Spanish has 88,000 words according to the RAE). Although officially, in British dictionaries you will only find 350,000. However, on a day-to-day basis, the average speaker uses no more than 2,800.
Most used words:
The two most common words in English are I and you, that is, you and me.
Do you want a word to go crazy with?
The word set is the one with the most definitions, among them is decorated, stage, decorate, regulation, in total 25 different meanings.
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