More people speak English than any other language except Chinese .English is the main language spoken in the United Kingdom,Ireland,Australia,New Zealand,Canada,the United States and some other countries. Altogether more than 450 million people speak English as their everyday language .Another 100 million or more speak at least some English. Most English words come from old Anglo Saxon,French,or Latin words. Modern English developed through the efforts  of literary and political writings .Modern English was influenced by old English,the beginning of the university educated people,Shakespeare,the common language found in the middle of presentday England and an effort to show and standardize English. British English,known as Standard English or Oxford English,underwent changes during the colonization of North America and the creation of the United States .British English words changed into American English words,such as centre to center,metre to meter,theatre to theater and so on. Until the 18th century,British and American English were very similar with almost no difference .Immigration  to America by other English peoples changed the language by 1700.Noah Webster,author of the first authoritative American English dictionary,created many changes. British English was almost similar to American English until the  _   century.
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