| The English-speaking world |
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| The "Anglosphere" According to a post on Word Spy, a blog on unusual words, the term was first used by author Neal Stephenson in his 1995 novel The Diamond Age. Stephenson did not use the term in any specific geopolitical sense but rather to describe a fictional race called the Atlantans who, when immigrating to London, were drawn from across the English speaking
English as an official language – clickable map English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century, it has become the lingua franca in many parts of |
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Dark blue: Countries and territories The British overseas territories are fourteen territories that are under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself where English is spoken natively by a significant population.
Light blue: Countries where English is an official language but not native. English is also one of the official languages of the European Union The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others. The EU asserts that it is in favour of linguistic diversity and currently has a European Commissioner for Multilingualism, Leonard. Click on the coloured regions to view the related article.
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Regions where English is an official language and spoken by a significant population:
| Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the World's human population |
Mauritius Mauritius (pronounced /məˈrɪʃəs/; French: L’île Maurice pronounced: [lil mɔˈʁis], Mauritian Creole: Moris, officially the Republic of Mauritius, French: République de Maurice is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of · Saint Helena Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about 10 miles by 5 miles and has a · South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798 kilometres coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an independent country wholly surrounded by South African territory
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| Americas Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language, or one which has significant British historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural links. Anglo-America is distinct from Latin America, a region of the Americas where Romance languages are prevalent |
Anguilla Anguilla is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. It consists of the main island of Anguilla itself, approximately 26 km (16 mi) long by 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The · Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is an island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands — Antigua (pronounced /ænˈtiːɡə/) and Barbuda(/bɑrˈbjuːdə/) — and a number of smaller islets. All are close neighbors within the middle of the Leeward Islands, and are located roughly 17 · The Bahamas The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets (rocks). It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States of · Barbados Barbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom; and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. Located at roughly 13° North of the equator and 59° · Belize Belize , is a country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, composed of many cultures and speaking many languages. Although Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the south and west, and · Bermuda Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1,350 kilometres (840 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 · British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S. Virgin Islands. Technically the name of the Territory is simply the "Virgin Islands", but in practice since 1917 they have · Canada Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area and its common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the world's longest · Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands is a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. The territory is a major offshore financial centre in the Caribbean · Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. To the north-northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique. Its size is 754 square kilometres (291 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,750 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica has · Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located approximately 300 mi (480 km) from the coast of mainland South America, 700 mi (1,100 km) from mainland Antarctica, and 3,800 mi (6,100 km) from Africa. There are two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, as well as 776 smaller islands. The islands are a self- · Grenada Grenada is an island country and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 344 km² with an estimated · Guyana Guyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Discovered by Europeans in 1498; therefore stretches back a bit more than 500 years, Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won, possessions · Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, amounting to 11,100 km2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the · Montserrat Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. It measures approximately 16 km (10 miles) long and 11 km (7 miles) wide, giving 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Christopher Columbus gave Montserrat its name on his second voyage to the New · Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen ), previously known as the Netherlands West Indies or Dutch Antilles/West Indies, is part of the Lesser Antilles and consists of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea: Curaçao and Bonaire, just off the Venezuelan coast, and Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, located southeast of the (Saba Saba is the smallest island of the Netherlands Antilles, located at 17°38′N 63°14′W / 17.633°N 63.233°W. It consists largely of the potentially active volcano, Mount Scenery (877 m), the highest point of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Saint Eustatius Sint Eustatius , also known affectionately to the locals as Statia, or Statius (/ˈjuːstəs/), is one of the islands which make up the Netherlands Antilles; it is in the northern, Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands. It forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Island chain, lying immediately to the, Saint Maarten The Island Territory of Sint Maarten is one of five island areas (Eilandgebieden) of the Netherlands Antilles, encompassing the southern half of the island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten. At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population of the Eilandgebied was 30,594, for a population density of 900 inhabitants per km²) · Saint Kitts and Nevis The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas, in both area and population · Saint Lucia Saint Lucia (French: Sainte-Lucie) is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Its size is 620 km² with an estimated population of 160,000. Its · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a nation in the Lesser Antilles chain, which lies at the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Its 389-square-kilometre territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from · Trinidad and Tobago The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west. The · Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of sub-tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre · United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the · United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands is a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles
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| Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population |
Hong Kong Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most · Philippines The Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. To its west across the South China Sea is Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest separates it from the island of Borneo and to the south the Celebes Sea from other · Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 712 km2 (275 sq mi), Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast Asia. It is
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| Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains (or the Kuma-Manych Depression), and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered |
Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy · Isle of Man The Isle of Man , or Mann (Manx: Mannin, [ˈmanɪn]), is a self-governing British Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom · Jersey · Malta · Republic of Ireland · United Kingdom
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| Oceania |
Australia · Marshall Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · New Zealand · Palau
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Regions where English is an official language but not widely spoken:
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| English Wiktionary |
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