English In The Commonwealth Of Nations
The use of the English language in most member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations was inherited from British colonisation. English is spoken as a first or second language in most of the Commonwealth. In a few countries, such as Cyprus and Malaysia, it does not have official status, but is widely used as a lingua franca. Mozambique is an exception - although English is widely spoken there, it is a former Portuguese colony which joined the Commonwealth in 1996.
Many regions, notably Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore and the Caribbean, have developed their own native varieties of the language. As such, generalisations cannot be made about the various forms of English used by the various member nations of the Commonwealth.
Written English as used in the Commonwealth generally favours British as opposed to American spelling, with some exceptions in Canada and Australia.
The report of the Inter-Governmental Group on Criteria for Commonwealth Membership states that English is a symbol of Commonwealth heritage and unity.
Read more about English In The Commonwealth Of Nations: Native Varieties, Non-native Varieties
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“The English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.”
—Derek Walcott (b. 1930)
“Was I not born in this Realm? Were my parents born in any foreign country?... Is not my Kingdom here? Whom have I oppressed? Whom have I enriched to other’s harm? What turmoil have I made to this Commonwealth that I should be suspected to have no regard of the same?”
—Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
“All nations love the same jests and tales, Jews, Christians, and Mahometans, and the same translated suffice for all.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)