Old English emerged from a group of West Germanic dialects spoken by the Anglo-Saxons. Late Old English borrowed some grammar and core vocabulary from Old Norse, a North Germanic language.[9][10][11] Then, Middle English borrowed vocabulary extensively from French dialects, which are the source of approximately 28 percent of Modern English words,... See more

English is either the official language, or one of the official languages, in

57 sovereign states and 30 dependent territories

, making it the most geographically widespread language in the world. In the

United Kingdom

, the

United States

,

Australia

, and

New Zealand

, it is the dominant language for historical reasons without being explicitly defined... See more