Lingo trivia

English is a West Germanic Language.
The English language spread with the growth of the British Empire, becoming the dominant language in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

The growing global influence of the US has further increased the spread of English.

Today English is the most widely spoken language in the world, with many people learning it as a second or foreign language. It is estimated that there could be as many as 1.5 billion total English speakers worldwide.

The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

English is one of six official languages of the United Nations, as well as Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese Mandarin and Arabic.

English has a massive vocabulary, with over 250000 different words.

English incorporates words from a large number of different languages. Many of these words have French, Old Norse or Dutch origins.

Many scientific words used in the English language come from Latin or Greek.

English sounds funny! Look at the list of mostly not used so often but yet existing English words and check it for yourself:

1. Anencephalous – Absence of a brain.
2. Borborygmus – Stomach rumbling.
3. Brouhaha – An uproar or noisy response.
4.Canoodle – Hugging and kissing.
5.Cantankerous – Bad tempered or grumpy.
6.Crudivore – Someone who eats raw food.
7.Discombobulate – To confuse someone.
8.Doozy – Something really good.
9.Fartlek – A training system for runners.
10.Flummox – To perplex or bewilder.
11.Gobbledygook – Meaningless or nonsensical language.
12.Kerfuffle – A mild scandal, commotion or fuss.
13.Klutz – A clumsy or foolish person.
14.Lickety-split – As quickly as possible.
15.Lollygag – To dawdle or spend time aimlessly.
16.Mollycoddle – To treat someone leniently.
17.Pratfall – A fall on the buttocks or an embarrassing action
18.Rambunctious – Uncontrollably excitable or exuberant.
19.Shenanigan – Silly behaviour.
20.Skullduggery – Deception or trickery.