Navigation

Related Articles

Filter by Category

Filter by Author

Back to Latest Articles
Fascinating Facts About the English Language

Fascinating Facts About the English Language


Lynn Court
Lynn Court
Fascinating Facts About the English Language

How many people speak English?

There are over 840 million people who speak English as a first or second language. This makes it the second most spoken language after Mandarin. It is the official language of 67 countries.

1. About 4,000 words are added to the dictionary each year.
2. The two most common words in English are I and you.
3. 1/4 of the world’s population speaks at least some English.
4. The most common adjective used in English is ‘good’.
5. Month, orange, silver, and purple do not rhyme with any other word.
6. Over 80% of the information stored on computers worldwide is in English.
7. 90% of English text consists of just 1000 words.
8. The word ‘lol’ was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011.
9. The word ‘Goodbye’ originally comes from an Old English phrase meaning ‘god be with you’.
10. Etymologically, Great Britain means ‘great land of the tattooed’.

Related Articles

Love of Lit
English

Love of Lit

Many of you will be aware that the BBC has been celebrating literature through the ages, culminating in the creation of a list of ‘100 Novels That Have Shaped Our World’.  See...

Posted on by Stephanie Knowles
The English Department takes the initiative during Flair Week!
English

The English Department takes the initiative during Flair Week!

This week, as you know, has been Flair Week across the school, with the theme of ‘Initiate’. Here in the English department, we have been busy engaging with a range of activities...

Posted on by Sara-Luise Smith