Home/English Q&A/English Wiki

🌍 English Wiki

Facts about English: its history, grammar and speakers.

Rate this section

Loading…

Two coffee cups, one labelled UK and one US

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3British or American English: does it matter?Two standards, one language. Choose one, stay consistent, and do not worry too much.2 min read

Flags of many countries around a globe

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3How many countries use English?English is official in about sixty countries — and a first foreign language in many more.2 min read

A world map with many small speech bubbles

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3How many people speak English?About 1.5 billion people can use English. Most of them are not native speakers.2 min read

A map with different regional speech patterns

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3What is a dialect?A dialect is a variety of a language, not a mistake. English has many.2 min read

Words arranged into clear sentence patterns

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3What is English grammar?Grammar is not a list of rules to obey. It is the pattern that makes meaning possible.2 min read

A printed page with careful handwriting beside it

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3What is Standard English?A useful convention for writing and exams — not a superior form of speech.2 min read

An old map showing sea routes to Britain

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Where did English come from?A Germanic language, twice reshaped by invasion, now spoken around the world.2 min read

A dictionary, a style guide and a notebook on a desk

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Who decides what is correct English?There is no official authority. Usage, dictionaries and style guides share the job.2 min read

An old printing press and a dictionary on a desk

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Who standardized English?Printers, dictionary makers and schoolmasters — not kings — fixed the shape of English.2 min read

The alphabet written out with sound symbols beside it

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Why are there 26 letters but more sounds?English has about 44 sounds and only 26 letters. That gap explains a lot.1 min read

People talking together in a busy street

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Why does English have grammar?Every language has grammar, including languages with no written rules. Here is why.2 min read

A large dictionary open at a crowded page

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Why does English have so many words?Invasions, science and empire gave English one of the largest vocabularies in the world.2 min read

Letters of the alphabet scattered on a desk

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Why is English spelling so strange?English spelling records how words sounded hundreds of years ago, not how they sound now.2 min read

A globe with routes connecting continents

KiiTOS Everyday Level 3Why is English the global language?Not because it is easy, and not because it is better. Power, trade and timing explain it.2 min read