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Over 400 million people use the English vocabulary as a mother tongue only
surpassed in numbers, but not in distribution by speakers of the many varieties of
Chinese.
Of all the world's languages (over 2,700) English is arguably the richest in
vocabulary; and that the Oxford English Dictionary lists about 500,000 words, and a
further half-million technical and scientific terms remain uncatalogued.
The main language used throughout the world on the internet is English.
More than half of the world's technical and scientific periodicals are in English.
English is the medium for 80% of the information stored in the world's computers.
5 of the largest broadcasting companies in the world (CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and CBC)
transmit in English, reaching millions and millions of people all over the world.
Of the estimated forty million users of the Internet, some eighty per cent
communicate in English, but this is expected to decrease to forty per cent as
speakers of other languages get online."
'Stewardesses' is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet.
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order:
'abstemious' and 'facetious.'
'Typewriter' is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row
of the keyboard.
The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the
same way when the last four letters are removed.
Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions.
What is called a " French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an " English
kiss" in France.
" Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical
order.
English is the most widespread language in the world and is more widely spoken and
written than any other language.
Over 400 million people use the English vocabulary as a mother tongue.
Of all the world's languages (over 2,700) English is arguably the richest in vocabulary.
The main language used throughout the world on the internet is English.
More than half of the world's technical and scientific periodicals are in English.
English is the medium for 80% of the information stored in the world's computers.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.
"Ough" can be pronounced in eight different ways. The following sentence contains them
all: "A r ough-coated, d ough-faced pl oughman strode through the streets of Scarbor
ough, c oughing and hicc oughing th oughtfully.
The last thing to happen is the ultimate. The next-to-last is the penultimate, and the
second-to-last is the antepenultimate.
The phrase " raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th Century England. During heavy
downpours of rain, many of these poor animals unfortunately drowned and their bodies
would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets. The situation
gave the appearance that it had literally rained "cats and dogs" and led to the current
expression.
The term " devil's advocate" comes from the Roman Catholic Church. When deciding if
someone should be sainted, a devil's advocate is always appointed to give an alternative
view.
The two lines that connect your top lip to the bottom of your nose are known as the
philtrum.
The word 'news' did not come about because it was the plural of 'new.' It came from the
first letters of the words North, East, West and South. This was because information was
being gathered from all different directions.
The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.
Malaria was so named because it was associated with the vapours rising from swamps
("mala" means bad and "aria" means air).
The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the
English language.
Q is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the states of
the USA.
The word 'grammar' entered medieval English as 'gramarye,' via Scotland. The Scots got
it from the French word, 'grimoire,' which meant a collection of magic spells.
In English, "four" is the only digit that has the same number of letters as its value.
English soldiers of the Hundred Years War were known to the French as "Les Goddams"
because of the large number of swear words they used.
The names of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.
The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
The word bread meaning "money" comes from old Cockney rhyming slang "Give me
your money. Give me your bread and honey."
The three words in the English language with the letters "uu" are: vacuum, residuum and
continuum.