Interesting Facts about English

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  • Only 5,1% of the world’s population speak English as a first language yet, 51,7% of written internet content; 66% of YouTube and 62% of Tiktok videos are in English.
  • 21,87% of all printed books have been originally written in English.
  • 65,187% (or 1880) of cinematic productions in 2021 were in English.
  • Around 15% speak English as their second language and the top ten countries with most number of English-second-language speakers are:
    1. Netherlands (71,45%)
    2. Sweden (70,40%)
    3. Denmark (69,93%)
    4. Norway (67,77%)
    5. Singapore (66,03%)
    6. Finland (65,83%)
    7. Luxembourg (64,57%)
    8. Germany (63,77%)
    9. Poland (63,76%)
    10. South Africa (63,37%)
Technically, English is one out of South Africa’s eleven official languages. The majority of South Africans actually speak English as a second language, but English is the most commonly spoken language and the one used in commerce and government.
  • Around 26% of English words originate from Proto-Germanic; 29% from Latin and 25% from French. This means that it is easier for native German-speakers to learn the language, when compared to speakers of other languages.
  • People with dementia who regularly speak more than one language experience a slower progression of the disease. Additionally, people who speak multiple languages are at lower risk of developing dementia and related diseases.
  • There is a direct correlation between a person’s Big-5 personality traits; their IQ and the languages they speak. This means that learning another language not only changes who you are but can also make you smarter!

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