First was the advent of printing in the 16th century, which allowed mass-produced language for the primary time. About 360 million folks speak English as their first language. The most common first language is Chinese, adopted distantly by Spanish and then, in third, comes English. Nigeria is followed by Uganda (29 million), South Africa (16 million) and Cameroon (9.Eight million). This is adopted by France (25.Four million) and Italy (20.7 million). In 1066, the Normans - a group from the world now generally known as France - conquered England and brought with them a type of French. The earliest type of English seems to be very completely different from our fashionable form, but the two share quite a few words and roots of phrases. The spelling of words turned standardized by the next century, and words may travel further than ever before. Historical linguists date the English language again to the fifth century, when Germanic tribes (talking Proto-Germanic) invaded Britain. While it’s difficult to say exactly how many people speak English throughout the vast continent of Asia, Ethnologue estimates it to be round 460 million.