SPOTLIGHT: English around the world - geography

Languages in Europe

Out of the 142 language families in the world, the Indo-European language family is the largest, comprising over 400 languages and dialects spoken by over three million people and with 46 % of the world population having a native language in this family. It dominates in Europe and large parts of central, southern, and eastern Asia.

The Indo-European language family can be divided into several branches, some of which are prevalent in Europe. These include:

• Germanic languages, spoken by around 515 native speakers (English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, etc.)
• Romance languages, spoken by more than 900 million native speakers (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.) and descended from Latin, the language spoken in the Roman Empire
• Slavic languages, spoken by more than 400 million people (Russian, Polish, Czech, Croatian, etc.)
• Celtic languages, spoken by around 515 million people who are native and non-native speakers (Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, etc.)

Ex. 1: Study the info-graphic above and decide on the languages spoken in the following European regions:

• Scandinavia and Northern European countries
• British Isles and Western Europe
• Central and Central Eastern Europe
• Southeastern Europe
• D-A-CH-L countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein)
• Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) 
• Southern Europe and the Mediterranean Region
• Eastern Europe
• Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania)

Geography of the English language

https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language

English is spoken in many different countries around the world:

1. as the native language by the majority of the population
2. as an official or state language
3. as a lingua franca in countries with another official language and various native languages

In countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, English is both the native language of the population majority and the official language.

In countries such as India and Pakistan, English is an official language among other official languages and many different native languages.

In countries such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates, English is a widely used lingua franca but not the official language or the native language of the majority population. 

Ex. 1: Find other countries where English is spoken as a/the lingua franca. 

English in Europe

The English language belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, such as German, Dutch and Afrikaans, but also Nordic and Scandinavian languages.

Germanic languages use the Latin alphabet and have similar sound systems; grammar structures are also very much alike with some important differences, though. German, for example, has three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), while English nouns are not gendered at all. 

In Europe, English takes on different functions: 

• as a native language (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland)
• as an official language (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Malta)
• as the privileged foreign language learnt and taught in educational institutions 
• as the official language of institutions such as the European Union and the Council of Europe
• as the most important lingua franca across the European continent

Learn more from: 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language