35 Interesting Facts About English That Can Help You Understand the Language Better
English is a beautiful, complicated, fun and infuriating (to cause a feeling of annoyance) language all at once.
But that is why learning English is such a rewarding experience!
From difficult spelling to words that describe the intense feeling you get when you see a cute kitten, every aspect of English has its own story.
Below are 35 interesting facts about English that will both surprise you and help you better understand the beautiful language you are learning.
Contents
- Remarkable English History Facts
-
- 1. Shakespeare added over 1,700 words to the English language.
- 2. Most English words come from French or Old English (use this to your advantage!).
- 3. The United States does not have an official language.
- 4. English used to have grammatical gender.
- 5. English uses the Latin alphabet.
- 6. The British Empire and the iPhone are two of the biggest reasons English is so widespread today.
- 7. English used to have 29 letters instead of the current 26.
- 8. English is the official language of the air.
- 9. You can blame confusing English spelling on a guy named William Caxton.
- Did You Know There Is a Word for That?
- Surprising Statistics You Can Count On
-
- 19. A new English word is added to the dictionary every two hours.
- 20. There are approximately 1.5 billion English speakers in the world.
- 21. English has more words than most languages.
- 22. The average English speaker only knows between 15,000 and 20,000 words.
- 23. The most commonly used letter in English is “E.”
- 24. The longest English word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
- 25. The shortest, non-elliptical sentence is “I am.”
- 26. Some of the oldest words in the English language are still very common today.
- 27. The most commonly used adjective is good.
- 28. The most commonly used noun is time.
- 29. The closest living language to English today is Frisian.
- Amusing Alphabet Tricks and Their Names
-
- 30. Two English words can combine into one.
- 31. You can fit every letter of the alphabet into a single sentence.
- 32. Some English words look the same backward or forward.
- 33. Some English words look the same upside down.
- 34. There is a name for words and phrases where each letter is used the same number of times.
- 35. Some English words repeat to make a new word.
- And One More Thing...
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Remarkable English History Facts
1. Shakespeare added over 1,700 words to the English language.
Almost everyone has heard of the great William Shakespeare, a famous English poet and playwright of the 16th century. From love poems to plays like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet,” Shakespeare has greatly influenced English literature.
But did you know the English language itself would not be the same without Shakespeare?
Shakespeare invented over 1,700 words, which he incorporated into his writing. Today, native English speakers still use these words in everyday speech.
Some of the fantastic words and phrases invented by this famous poet include:
Addiction — Being psychologically or physically dependent on something, usually a drug.
Bedazzled — Blinded by something incredibly wonderful.
Cold-blooded — An animal that does not have the ability to raise its body temperature (like a reptile). It is also a phrase used to describe someone who is cruel and seems to have no feelings.
Swagger — To walk in a way that shows you are being boastful or disrespectful.
Break the ice — To relieve the tension or silence in a conversation by talking.
To see some of the other interesting sayings and words Shakespeare invented, check out these articles from Mental Floss and The Intrepid Guide.
2. Most English words come from French or Old English (use this to your advantage!).
Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, French became the language used by the nobility in Britain. Meanwhile, the peasants and lower classes continued to use Old English, which was made up of Germanic vocabulary.
Over time, the two languages began to mix, and Middle English—which is much closer to today’s English—was born.
So why does this matter to English learners?
Well, this history can help you figure out when to use certain words. The words that came from French are often considered more formal or sophisticated, while words that came from Old English are more informal.
Take the words commence and begin , which both mean “to start.” Commence is a much fancier word. Native English speakers would only use it in more formal settings.
For example, you could use it while discussing business matters: “The marketing team commenced work on the project.”
On the other hand, begin is a more casual word that native speakers use frequently.
Can you guess which word comes from French and which one comes from Old English?
Commence is basically the same word that the French currently use: commencer (to start). The word begin comes from the (now unused) Old English word beginnan, which also meant “to start.”
3. The United States does not have an official language.
Technically, the U.S. does not have an official language at the federal level, though some states have declared English their official language.
While English is the most common language spoken in the U.S., it is not the only one. America is made up of people from many diverse (different, various) backgrounds who speak lots of wonderful languages!
That means if you visit or move to the U.S., you can find many other non-native speakers just like yourself.
4. English used to have grammatical gender.
Many languages have “grammatical gender.” For example, Spanish speakers use the gender articles el and la (the) depending on whether a noun is masculine or feminine.
Old English had grammatical gender, but modern English does not. The book “Gender Shifts in the History of English” explains how English lost its grammatical gender system over time.
It actually may make it easier for learners that the English language does not have these gender rules today. You only have to memorize a word’s meaning, not its gender!
5. English uses the Latin alphabet.
The Latin or Roman alphabet originally came from the Etruscan alphabet. It happens to be the most widely used alphabet in the world, which is a great help to many English learners!
6. The British Empire and the iPhone are two of the biggest reasons English is so widespread today.
Some of you may wonder why English is such a popular language today. While there are many reasons, here are some of the biggest.
The British Empire refers to the period between roughly the late 15th to 17th century and the 1990s, when England had vast territories and colonies all over the world. Essentially, this was when England controlled large portions of Europe, North America, Africa and the West Indies.
You can imagine how English would’ve spread globally with such an enormous empire.
The second big English boost occurred with the rise of the U.S. in the 20th century, when the country became one of the biggest international players in social, economic and political affairs.
Lastly, many of the recent technological and scientific advancements have come from English-speaking countries. Just consider international words like internet and iPhone .
Quite poetically, your phone is also one of the best ways to learn English. With a program like FluentU (which you can access on mobile devices as well as browsers), you have a wealth of English videos and tools to learn with.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
7. English used to have 29 letters instead of the current 26.
The English alphabet has actually gotten smaller over the years!
To find out which letters were added and omitted, take a look at this New York Post article.
8. English is the official language of the air.
This means that English is the official language of airplane travel.
Ever noticed that no matter where you are flying in the world, your pilot and flight attendants always know English? This is why!
9. You can blame confusing English spelling on a guy named William Caxton.
Well, not just Caxton.
You cannot entirely blame weird spelling on just one person—especially not with English’s long and complicated history—but there are a few folks who made some huge differences.
During the Middle Ages, scribes (people who write documents) tried their best to copy down words as they sounded. However, with so many different regional dialects, this produced many inconsistencies.
Then there’s William Caxton, a famous Englishman who started a printing press. He hired Flemish workers who simply spelled some words according to what they were used to.
Others like Noah Webster had their hands in English spelling as well. Webster was a dictionary publisher who was largely responsible for American spelling differing from British spelling.
You have probably noticed how some English words are spelled completely differently than they sound. Unfortunately for learners, this convoluted (complicated or difficult) spelling system is something you will just have to find creative ways to master (here are some ideas to get you started).
Did You Know There Is a Word for That?
English is a language rich in vocabulary, but some words may surprise you—and may be just what you were looking for!
10. Cute Aggression
Cute aggression is the term for wanting to hug something cute very hard—almost violently. Ever want to just squeeze your kitten because it is so adorable?
Your puppy is so adorable that I have cute aggression!
11. Gender-neutral Pronouns
When you do not strictly identify as either a man or woman (meaning you are nonbinary ), you use gender-neutral pronouns. Here are a few examples and their gendered counterparts in parentheses:
- Ze (he/she) – pronounced like “zee”
- Hir (his/her) – pronounced like “here” or “hear”
- Zim (him/her) – pronounced like “zeem”
- Mx (Mr/Ms.) – pronounced like “mux”
- Hirself (himself/herself) – pronounced like “hear-self”
Often, you will also hear nonbinary individuals use they as a third person singular (instead of he or she), their (third person singular possessive) and them . For a more complete guide on how to use gender-neutral pronouns, read this article from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.
My friend is so excited that ze is coming to the party later.
I should note that the concept of being nonbinary, as well as gender in general, is a complex topic that would take an entire blog post (if not several blog posts) to cover. If you are at all interested in it, and if you think you have a pretty good handle on your English, here are some books you can read on the subject.
12. Genderlect
Genderlect is a style or type of speech used by a specific gender. It was coined by Deborah Tannen, who originally used the word to refer to the (supposed) differences between the way men and women communicate.
Whether men and women speak different genderlects is a subject of debate.
13. Heuristic
Heuristic is used to describe something taught or learned from experience.
The professor applied a heuristic teaching method so her students would learn by trial and error.
14. Bardolatry
Bardolatry refers to someone obsessed with Shakespeare. (Shakespeare is sometimes referred to as “The Bard.”)
Shakespeare is still celebrated so much today that Bardolatry is alive and well.
15. Boffola
Boffola is a joke that’s met with extremely loud laughter.
That was the comedian’s best boffola!
16. Mouse Potato
Ever heard the term couch potato (someone who watches a lot of TV)? Well, mouse potato refers to someone who works on the computer a lot.
Ever since Susan started her online company, she has been such a mouse potato.
17. Snollygoster
Snollygoster refers to a person without principles.
That politician is a snollygoster.
18. Petrichor
Petrichor is a word to describe the way it smells after it rains.
I love the petrichor of a summer thunderstorm.
Surprising Statistics You Can Count On
19. A new English word is added to the dictionary every two hours.
Editors from the Oxford English Dictionary have estimated that about 4,000 new words are added to the dictionary every year.
That means one new word about every two hours!
20. There are approximately 1.5 billion English speakers in the world.
That’s almost 20 percent of the world’s population!
About 400 million of those are native speakers. Find out more at St George International.
21. English has more words than most languages.
There are currently about an estimated one million words in the English language.
But don’t let this scare you, because…
22. The average English speaker only knows between 15,000 and 20,000 words.
To be precise, that is the average number of words native speakers know in their first language. That should be a comfort to learners: you do not have to memorize all of the million English words out there, because you will still be understood!
23. The most commonly used letter in English is “E.”
“E” is the most commonly used English letter, and “Q” is the letter used the least.
Fun fact: “Q” is also the only letter that does not appear in any of the state names in the U.S.
24. The longest English word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
With 45 letters, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a medical term that refers to a lung disease caused by inhaling sand dust or ash.
25. The shortest, non-elliptical sentence is “I am.”
A non-elliptical sentence is a sentence that does not leave anything out.
For example, the command “Go!” may seem like the shortest sentence, but it is elliptical because it leaves out the pronoun “you.” Technically, it would be “You go!” which is two letters longer than “I am.”
26. Some of the oldest words in the English language are still very common today.
They include I , love , black , mother , fire , hand and hear .
Check out more of the oldest words at Dictionary.com. Some of them might surprise you! (Also, that article is a great English lesson by itself.)
27. The most commonly used adjective is good.
Of course, different sources come up with different answers for this, but “good” is usually listed among the most common adjectives.
28. The most commonly used noun is time.
The Oxford English Dictionary has identified time as the most frequently used noun.
Person received second place, followed by year in the third spot.
29. The closest living language to English today is Frisian.
Frisian is a language currently spoken in just three small areas of Germany and the Netherlands.
Amusing Alphabet Tricks and Their Names
30. Two English words can combine into one.
A portmanteau is a word that blends the sounds of two English words to make a new word that combines their meanings.
For example, hangry means hungry and angry.
31. You can fit every letter of the alphabet into a single sentence.
A pangram is a sentence that contains every letter from the alphabet.
A very famous English pangram is: “The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.”
Also, pangrams are pretty useful when you are getting used to a QWERTY or English keyboard.
32. Some English words look the same backward or forward.
A palindrome is a word or phrase that has the same spelling whether you read left-to-right (like normal) or right-to-left.
An example of this is madam .
33. Some English words look the same upside down.
An ambigram is a word that looks the same upside down as right-side up.
A great example is the word “SWIMS” with all capitalized letters.
34. There is a name for words and phrases where each letter is used the same number of times.
An isogram is a word or phrase in which each letter appears the same number of times.
For example, the word dialogue uses each letter once.
35. Some English words repeat to make a new word.
A tautonym in linguistics is a word that consists of the same word twice. You might also hear this referred to as reduplication .
The common English word so-so is the perfect example of a tautonym. It means “just okay; fine.”
Now that you know all about the English language, you can get back to learning the language itself!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials, as you can see here:
If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.
The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.
FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.
For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:
FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.
The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
