ENGLISH – GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

The number of native English speakers and speakers of English as a second language has passed one billion, eight hundred million (1,800,000,000) according to recent estimations – in this case, English overtakes Mandarin as the most-spoken native language in the world.

 

• English is the language of navigation, aviation and IT

• More than 80% of information stored in the world's computers is in English

• Approximately 80 percent of business negotiations around the world are in English

• English is the most widespread language in the world and is more spoken and written than any other

• Three quarters of the world's mail is in English

• English is the official language of 70 countries (and where it isn't the official language, it occupies an important position in many areas and professions)

• English is considered the main language of international organisations such as the United Nations, European Union and Free Trade.

 

English is studied as a foreign language throughout the world and used by the majority of internet surfers.

 

Of the 163 United Nations member countries, the majority speak English.

 

The easiest way to calculate the economic importance of a language could be to add up the GNP of all the countries where it is spoken. People who consider English as their mother tongue represent less than 10% of the global population but have more than 30% of the world's economic power. In terms of quantity and volume of communication therefore, English is the world leader.