Globally, where does English rank as an official language and next, as a second language?
463397
Wikipedia is great for these kind of questions :-)\n\nSpoken in:\nAustralia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, Malta, Singapore, South Africa and other countries\n(used as international language)\n\nTotal speakers:\nFirst language: about 380 million\nSecond language: 150 million-1 billion\n\nRanking:\n#3 or #4 as a native language (near-tie with Spanish);\n#2 in overall speakers
1177431
Sorry, guys.  English is NOT the official language of the United States as a country.  The US does not HAVE an official language.  Of the 50 states, only 28 have declared English as an official language.  Of those 28, Louisiana and Hawaii have declared other languages, French and Hawaiian respectively, as co-official languages along with English.  Furthermore, on many Native American reservations, the various tribal languages are either official or co-official with English.\n\nEDIT: My own state, Utah, declared English the official state language, after a state-wide vote, in 2000. \nAlso: Currently, the United States federal government specifies no official language, but there are official languages in these states:\n\nEnglish alone: \nAlabama (1990) \nArkansas (1987) \nCalifornia (1986) \nColorado (1988) \nFlorida (1988) \nGeorgia (1996) \nIllinois (1969) \nIndiana (1984) \nIowa (2002) \nKentucky (1984) \nMassachusetts (1975) \nMississippi (1987) \nMissouri (1998) \nMontana (1995) \nNebraska (1920) \nNew Hampshire (1995) \nNorth Carolina (1987) \nNorth Dakota (1987) \nSouth Carolina (1987) \nSouth Dakota (1995) \nTennessee (1984) \nUtah (2000) \nVirginia (1996) \nWest Virginia (2005) \nWyoming (1996) \nEnglish and Hawaiian: \nHawaii (1978) \nEnglish and French: \nLouisiana \nEnglish and Spanish: \nNew Mexico \n"English Plus" resolutions: \nNew Mexico (1989) \nOregon (1989) \nRhode Island (1992) \nWashington (1989) \nNone: \nIn addition to the states not otherwise mentioned: \nAlaska's 1998 Official English amendment was overturned by the Alaska State Supreme Court in 2002. \nArizona's 1988 Official English amendment was overturned by the Arizona State Supreme Court in April, 1998. \nAlso, English and Spanish are official in Puerto Rico. English and Chamorro are the official languages of Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands
536042
Definitely Chinese (Mandarin, of course). Why ?\nIt's spoken by more than 1/3 of the world's population. \nChina is an emerging super-power. \nChina has been & will be US important economic partner.\nMandarin is spoken my most Asian countries (Mandarin is the national language of Singapore & Taiwan; it's also popular in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, S. Korea...)\nIt's being implemented in some US schools districts\n(such as New york, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle...).\nIt's believed to be the language of the future.
142521
eengluss <broken english>, because THAT is the most common language in the world.
83398
English. worldwide already.
489993
Mandarin and English . approximately 16% of the world population.
707209
Our official language is English! If you don't like it, move to Mexico or Spain where it is Spanish! But if youre gonna live here, you better learn English!
216866
canada's two official languages are English and French.\nEnglish is spoken more than french.\nin Quebec french is first language, whereas in other parts english is first language and french is second.\n\nwell for the third language, there is no third language, but as you know the number of immigration is totally high, so people speak variety of languages and some people dont know english at all! there are ESL (english second language) classes for those and there is nothing surprising to say many people dont know French (those who dont live in Quebec!)
638635
It seems to me that just about every major nation has a national tongue but the US. Why not? English is the international business language, and the predominant language spoken in the U.S.
593411
Do you mean that *official* communication is English-only?  Or that those who speak Spanish, Japanese, or Malayalam are forbidden to speak to others who speak their language other than in English?\n\nI think the first is short-sighted.  The second is discriminatory.\n\nYes, if you live in America, you should speak English.  But you, living your entire life in one language have no idea how difficult it *is* to learn a foreign language as an adult.  Some people will never learn much beyond the basics.  Most will learn quite a bit, but never be as fluent in it as in their native language.  Only *very* few people have the talent to really thoroughly learn a new language.\n\nAnd, to correct a couple of "facts" in other answers, you do *not* need American citizenship in order to get a Green Card or work visa.  In fact, if you are a US citizen, you would need neither one; they are *only* for non-citizens.\n\nAnd "most of the world" does *not* speak English.  Many people around the world do speak English to *some* degree.  Over 300 million people speak English as a first language; less than 200 million speak it as a second language (see URL in sources section below).  The world's population is about 6.5 billion.  If one in thirteen has become "most" in recent years, I am unaware of it.
121574
There are six official languages of the United Nations, in which all formal debate and communication are to be done in. Those are English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Chinese. Most text is drafted in English and/or French.
1171281
The country with the greatest number of english speakers is India
569804
If English is a second language you already have a lot of diversity going for you.   Just describe your live.
519375
English was the official language until the Clinton administration changed things. Now that we are dividing our language, our culture, and our borders we are losing what it means to be a united nation. We need to make English the official language again, or we will continue to be divided and eventually we will lose our strength.
1112704
English is considered an international language cuz it's used almost everywhere and in most countries as a second language. for instance, if you are in Japan or india, you would find it easy to communicate in English with the natives there. Also, English is quite important so one can find a good job opportunity. Without English and computer skills your success in yr career life is relatively limited. Hence, it's barely disputed that the English language is extremely significant. One more thing before i go..you said English is power, right? ok, it's power cuz it derives its strength from its really politically and economically powerful countries, such as, US and Britain.
612837
Mandarin Chinese by far.  It is the official language in China, Taiwan, Singapore.  And it is spoken many oversea Chinese around the world.
738661
There is no official International Language, but English is understood and spoken by more than 48% of the world population, followed closely by 29% Chinese and 14% Arabic...so that probably makes English the International language..