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Language Facts

50 Interesting Facts About the English Language

Here are 50 Interesting Facts About the English Language:

  1. "Set" has over 200 different meanings in English.
  2. "Queue" is the only word with four consecutive vowels.
  3. "Go" is the most used verb with over 1,000 uses.
  4. English has no official language at the federal level.
  5. The shortest complete sentence is "I am."
  6. "Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.
  7. "Bookkeeper" is the only word with three consecutive double letters.
  8. English has more words than any other language.
  9. The most common letter in English is "E."
  10. The least common letter is "Q."
  11. A pangram is a sentence using every letter of the alphabet.
  12. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is a pangram.
  13. Shakespeare invented over 1,700 words.
  14. The dot over an "i" is called a tittle.
  15. "Dreamt" is the only word ending in "mt."
  16. Typewriter is the longest word using one row of a keyboard.
  17. The first dictionary was published in 1755.
  18. "Mouth" and "month" rhyme but share no letters.
  19. A new word is added to Oxford dictionary every 2 hours.
  20. English is the most widely learned second language.
  21. "Flabbergasted" means surprised.
  22. The word "goodbye" came from "God be with you."
  23. "GIF" can be pronounced both ways and both are acceptable.
  24. "Syllable" has three pronounced but only two written.
  25. The word "Alphabet" comes from Greek.
  26. "Facetious" contains all five vowels in order.
  27. "Honorificabilitudinitatibus" is Shakespeare's longest word.
  28. New York City has an accent unique to the world.
  29. The English language is constantly evolving.
  30. "Karaoke" means empty orchestra in Japanese.
  31. "OK" is the most recognized word in the world.
  32. The oldest word in English is "I."
  33. English has 26 letters but 44 sounds.
  34. Half the words in English come from French.
  35. "No" is the most frequently spoken word worldwide.
  36. The word "nice" originally meant foolish.
  37. "Dord" is a word that never existed.
  38. Whales sing in dialects specific to their region.
  39. Baby sharks are called pups.
  40. "E" is the most common letter in English words.
  41. "Lollipop" is from "lolly" (tongue) and "pop" (to strike).
  42. The word "quiz" was invented to mock people.
  43. "Awful" originally meant inspiring awe.
  44. Over 1 billion people speak English.
  45. The word "strength" has no vowels.
  46. "Sesquipedalian" means long-winded.
  47. English has more synonyms than any other language.
  48. "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a grammatically correct sentence.
  49. "Redivider" is the longest English word with all unique letters.