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Variants of the English language


According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, varieties of English include British English (including Irish English), American English and Canadian English, Australian/New Zealand English (listed together by EB), India-Pakistan English (also listed together), and African English (especially as spoken in South Africa).

English is spoken by large numbers of people in Africa, North America, the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand, and parts of Asia.

Major English speaking countries/regions with one million native speakers or more include (data from Ethnologue unless noted):

Many countries have millions of non-native English speakers. International English is sometimes considered a distinct variation of English. The countries with substantial numbers of English speakers and their own varieties of English are listed below.

English is the first language of 230,000 people in India. English has 125 million speakers in India, more than any other language except Hindi.

Nigeria was the third- or fourth-place English speaking country worldwide in 2000, behind the U.S., the U.K. and ahead of India if c. 30 million speakers of Nigerian Pidgin English are counted.

As of 2010, there were 83 million speakers of English in Nigeria, with growth of approximately 6% per year. English is an official national language, and the de facto national language for business, government and education.

Other countries with 50 million or more speakers of English include Pakistan (Pakistani English) and the Philippines (Philippine English).

Pidgins and creoles exist which are based on, or incorporate, English, including Chinook Jargon (a mostly extinct trade language), American Indian Pidgin English, and Manglish (Malaysian English-Malay-Chinese-Tamil).


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