Editing English language (section)

=== Pluricentric English ===
{{Pie chart
|caption=Pie chart showing the percentage of native English speakers living in "inner circle" English-speaking countries. Native speakers are now substantially outnumbered worldwide by second-language speakers of English (not counted in this chart).
|other=yes
|value1={{#expr:231/359*100 round 1}}
|label1=US
|color1=#BF0A30
|value2={{#expr:60/359*100 round 1}}
|label2=UK
|color2=#003399
|value3={{#expr:19/359*100 round 1}}
|label3=Canada
|color3=#FF0000
|value4={{#expr:17/359*100 round 1}}
|label4=Australia
|color4=#008751
|value5={{#expr:4.8/359*100 round 1}}
|label5=South Africa
|color5=#FCB514
|value6={{#expr:3.8/359*100 round 1}}
|label6=Ireland
|color6=#008000
|value7={{#expr:3.7/359*100 round 1}}
|label7=New Zealand
|color7=#000000
}}

English is a [[pluricentric language]], which means that no one national authority sets the standard for use of the language.{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2008|p=2}}{{sfn|Romaine|1999}}{{sfn|Baugh|Cable|2002}}{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2008|pp=8–9}} Spoken English, for example English used in broadcasting, generally follows national pronunciation standards that are also established by custom rather than by regulation. International broadcasters are usually identifiable as coming from one country rather than another through their [[Accent (sociolinguistics)|accents]],{{sfn|Trudgill|2006}} but newsreader scripts are also composed largely in international [[standard written English]]. The norms of standard written English are maintained purely by the consensus of educated English-speakers around the world, without any oversight by any government or international organisation.{{sfn|Ammon|2008|pp=1537–1539}}

American listeners generally readily understand most British broadcasting, and British listeners readily understand most American broadcasting. Most English speakers around the world can understand radio programmes, television programmes, and films from many parts of the English-speaking world.{{sfn|Svartvik|Leech|2006|p=122}} Both standard and non-standard varieties of English can include both formal or informal styles, distinguished by word choice and syntax and use both technical and non-technical registers.{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2008|pp=5–6}}

The settlement history of the English-speaking inner circle countries outside Britain helped level dialect distinctions and produce [[Koiné language|koineised]] forms of English in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.{{sfn|Deumert|2006|p=130}} The majority of immigrants to the United States without British ancestry rapidly adopted English after arrival. Now the majority of the United States population are monolingual English speakers,{{sfn|Ryan|2013|loc=Table 1}}{{sfn|Deumert|2006|p=131}} and English has been given official or co-official status by 30 of the 50 state governments, as well as all five territorial governments of the US, though there has never been an official language at the [[U.S. Government|federal]] level.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/langleg.htm |title=Language Legislation in the U.S.A. |publisher=languagepolicy.net |date=1 February 2012 |last=Crawford |first=James |access-date=29 May 2013 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116075156/http://www.languagepolicy.net/archives/langleg.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.us-english.org/view/13 |title=States with Official English Laws |publisher=us-english.org |access-date=29 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515100118/http://www.us-english.org/view/13 |archive-date=15 May 2013 }}</ref>