English - The World's Language?

Since I began participating on various forums and blog sites, I have become aware of how many people throughout the world speak English.  I knew it was a widely-spoken Language, but I did not realize as far as native speakers goes, English is the third most commonly spoken language in the world (after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish).  As a second language, however, it is the most commonly used.  In fact, when including both native and non-native speakers, it is the most commonly spoken language.

My main resource for the information in this post is from:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_where_English_is_an_official_language

In the United Kingdom, Australia and United States, English is the de facto language, but none of these countries has declared English as their Official language.

Many countries have declared English as their Official language, including several where English isn’t necessarily the primarily-spoken language. English is the official language in Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Dominca, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribata, The Netherlands, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Phillipines, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Many of these countries are former British and American colonies.  In many other countries, English is widely or primarily used.  These countries include American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guam, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montsserrat, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Maarten, San Andres y Providencia, Somaliland, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

IBOToolbox definitely piqued my interest to know where English was spoken, and I am really amazed by what I’ve learned. 

Here I sit, and English-speaking American.  I’ve taken years of classes to learn Spanish, but I am still not fluent.  I don’t think I could be faulted for saying that the majority of Americans speak English and only English.  So, a huge percentage of people throughout the world could communicate with us in the United States, but few of us could go to their countries and speak to them in their native language.

I feel a bit uneducated, because I can only communicate in one language.  I wish that learning at least one foreign language was required in schools.  I admire those IBOToolbox members from countries throughout the world who have joined and contribute to this platform in English when it is not their primary language.

The Internet has afforded me the opportunity to communicate and learn a little about people all over the world, and for that, I am grateful.