Eli5: Why is the English language most common in this world?
In: 41
Two reasons: first, England was a powerful sea-faring imperial and colonial country for hundreds of years. They spread English through trade and starting colonies in foreign countries; they just spread out all over and took their language with them. More recently, the USA became an economic super-power that forged economic relationships all around the world, making English the primary language of global commerce and industry; everyone wanted to learn English to make deals with Americans.
The US version of imperialism and colonization was exporting American goods and culture.
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