English Language - an Overview
English language is a West Germanic language and belongs to the Indo-European family. This language was originally spoken by inhabitants of early medieval England. The name comes from the ‘Angles’, these are ancient Germanic people who migrated from Anglia, which is a peninsula on the Baltic sea, to Great Britain which was later renamed ‘England’.
The closest relatives of the English language are Scots and later followed by the Low Saxon and Frisian languages. English is west genealogically west Germanic and its vocabulary have a great influence from om Old Norman French and Latin along with Old Norse which is a North Germanic language. English speakers are also referred to as Anglophones.
Moreover, the earliest forms of English also known as old English had evolved from West Germanic dialects which were brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon migrants during the 5th century.
English - a Universal Language
English is one of the world’s most spoken languages and the third most spoken native language in the world after standard Chinese and Spanish. It is also the wide language of the world it is one of the official and at places official languages in 59 sovereign states. Another interesting fact about the English language is that it has been learned by the outsiders more as compared to the native speakers.
As of the latest survey and statistics, the English language has more than 2 billion speakers. It is the native language in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland. It is also the co-official language of the United Nations and the European Union with a lot of other regional international organizations.
Fun Facts About the English Language
The English language is full of fun facts. A few of these are
1. The Addition of words keeps on
Hundreds of words are added to the English language every year. A group of people decide about the words and add them to the English language. The global language monitor takes care of it. Approximately 5366 words have been added to the language in the past 10 years and this makes 536 words per year. It makes two words per day.
A few of the words which were added are
- On brand
- Swole
- Sesh
- Inspo
2. ‘E’ is Everywhere in the English Language
One of the most common letters in the English language is “E”. As readers digest tell, an analysis of 240,000 entries was made in the concise Oxford English dictionary. According to the OED’s findings, the letter E is there in around 11% of the words which are common in the English vocabulary, about 6000 more words than the A alphabet, the runner-up letter.
Moreover, ‘E’ is also mostly struck alphabet on the keyboard and is second most popular after the space bar. It is one-third of the single most used word in English-“the” and it appears in the most common noun and also a most common verb. Additionally, the most common consonant in English is R, as followed by T.
3. “The Quick Fox Jumps over the Lazy Dog” and has all 26 Letters of the English Language
4. A Few of the English Words only Exist in Plural Forms.
A few of these are
- Glasses
- Scissors
- Binoculars
- Shears
- Pajamas
- Pants
- Jeans
- Tongs
These are not all and they’re a lot more.
Which Letter Starts the Fewest Words in the English Language?
All 26 alphabets of the English language contribute to making a net total of 240,000 words. It is interesting to find out that of all the words there are letters that have few words on their credit and less than 500 of these words are in.
It has always been a topic for debates and discussion to check about the letter that starts from the fewest words. There are different opinions about it and around 1000 and apple make up the letter A, and zero makes the letter Z.
This dispute goes back to 1886 and there is no clear winner though. It becomes evident when looking at available examples. The words get started with vowels mostly and the prowords have their start with the consonants.
These two sounds which are mentioned above are two of many types and there are six more possibilities that depend on the word that was originally spelled or spoken. A word that starts with that letter, the arguments can’t be sure.
It is practically impossible to trace the first-ever speaker or writer that has created some new word because there are unlimited others in the English language. This is why every argument has a loophole that allows the other side to get it.
As a result, you can barely say which letter starts with every word in English however, you can talk about the probability of each of it happening because an argument is an argument because it does not get resolved.
Letters with More Than a Few Words
Naming about the five words in M, it has plenty of words such as Motion, material, medicine, master, and mitigate. Now you can have fun with the L word and the words go like lollipops, laziness, language, Labrador, and on. Then there is the letter B which has many words such as Black, ball, Barbar, bat, and many more.
The Letter Which has the Fewest Words to Start with
Now coming to the actual topic which asks about the letters that have letters that start with the least parts starting from X. ‘Xylophone’ is all that one can think about. There is an X-ray then. The letter X has a very limited number of words.
You don't have to think much about taking the X letter and thinking about the words which start with the ‘X’ so ‘X’ is one of the letters that have the fewest words to start with. Xenization, xenial, and xenagogy are three more words that complete the list.
It is rather easier to show a mat for the kindergarteners showing xylophone and than to show denization travel with strangers. Additionally, it is interesting to take note that Noah Webster published its compendious dictionary in 1806 and it had only one word under the list of letter X:
xebec which is a small three-masted vessel in the Mediterranean. The revised version of this dictionary in 1828 added 13 more words under the letter X. Now roughly there are more than 400 words beginning with the X.
The longest words that start with the letter X are
Xanthophores
It is a chromatophore that contains a yellow pigment in cold-blooded animals.
Xanthophyll
It is a yellow carotenoid pigment that is found in plant and animal fat and egg yolks.
Xenogenesis
It is about the alternation of two or more different forms in the plant and animal’s life cycle.
Xeriscaping
The term defines the conservation of water through a designed landscape for dry condition
Xerography
Formation of an image through the action of the light on a charged plate, the latent image then has the powders which adhere to electrically charged areas.
Xeroradiography
Radiography using x-rays and related techniques
Xiphosternum
It is a part of the breastbone, one of the three parts, it articulates with the seventh rib and sternum
Xylography
It is an art of engraving on wood
Xylophonists
The players of the xylophone
Xylostomata
It is closely felted sterile mycelium of a lot of wood-destroying fungi that is formerly believed to represent the distinguished genus.
Xerophthalmia
It is an abnormal dryness of the cornea of the eyes and conjunctiva: it happens due to a deficiency of vitamin A.
Xanthosiderite
It is a mineral hydrous iron oxide, Fe2O3.2H2O
Xenocurrencies
Currencies are traded in markets outside domestic borders.
Xenotransplant
A surgical procedure with tissues and whole organs which are transferred from one specie to another.
Xocolatophobia
It is an irrational and disproportionate fear of chocolate
The Letter with the Least Amount of Words
Everyday English has J, X, and Z and the least used letters are also there. Moreover, the least common words are J, Q, and Z but a few of these are rarely used. Letter with the highest number of words
The number of English words that begin within each letter are in descending order
Letter “O”
More than 7800 words start with the letter ‘O’ according to the most credible dictionaries of English.
Letter “F”
The words with this letter are around 7100 as mentioned in the dictionary.
Letter “G”
There are 6900 words in the English dictionary which start with the letter “G”.
Letter “N”
Letter N has 6700 Words in the English Dictionary.
Almost all languages of the world contain letters that start with the fewest words and then letters that have maximum words so this is how languages are. The topic of letters has always been under the consideration since always.
Final words
English is a West Germanic language and comes from the Indo-European family. It has 26 letters in it and these letters contribute to 24000 words of the whole dictionary. The letter which has the fewest words to start with is X. It has 400 words in the dictionary so far and the longest words starting with ‘X’ has been shared with their meanings.
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