@denis
I appreciate your point. However, I wonder if MS fully recognizes variants in English in different countries. I was surprised to read that English is the most widely spoken language in the world, more than even Chinese or Spanish.
World's 33 Most Spoken Languages (2022): Facts and Figures
That statistic is rather disingenuous.
If you ask "what is the most spoken first language", Chinese and Spanish are way ahead of English.
English is the most spoken "second language" being the world's lingua franca, particularly in business.
Lots of countries have English as an official language BUT that does not mean the population speaks it. Official language simply refers to the language used for the legal framework - many countries have multiple regional dialects, and it is simply more practical to use english as the official language.
Even India still retains it. Originally Hindi was to replace English but English was indefinitely retained along with Hindi as many regional dialects.
I have Indian Engineer friends in UK and it is quite common for them to have a conversation in one of the Indian dialects with each other but they slip between their local language and English seamlessly.
They told me that was because their own language does not really handle technical discussions very well and it just easier to use English at times.
Good points. And in some countries English is taught to grade-schoolers. Denmark is an example. In some countries, you can just about assume that everyone also speaks English. But when I was in Israel once, I found that in some places, people did not speak English. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, everyone spoke English (and often other languages.)
Even the French now speak English.
When I worked in Denmark I found most students/workers I knew preferred to use English versions of Windows. They all said translation into Danish was often confusing, and when looking for help, it was just easier to sort things in English. This varies across EU though.Good points. And in some countries English is taught to grade-schoolers. Denmark is an example. In some countries, you can just about assume that everyone also speaks English. But when I was in Israel once, I found that in some places, people did not speak English. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, everyone spoke English (and often other languages.)
Even the French now speak English.
For some bizarre reason, those on other side of Pond use a version of English that baffles Brits LOL.
As a "Yank" I used to go to London twice a year on business to teach a class. I had students from the UK, rest of EU, and sometimes from Saudi Arabia.
After a while I learned how to use phrases from the King's English (Queen's English back then). Like "top up," "car park," "diary,", "details," "managing director," "expiry," etc. After a while I used those phrases and words in my class, even though I was delivering the class in a New Yawk accent. LOL.
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