Abstract
The English language is the first language of about 350 million people and probably as many people can speak and understand English as a second language. English also has an official or special status in more than 75 countries. About 80% of the world's electronically stored information is stored in English and about two scientists out of three read and publish their work in English. The most commonly discussed reason for the central position of the English language is the economic and political pre-eminence of English speaking-countries. In my opinion though, there are several others reasons for the phenomenon. The English language has various advantages that make the principal language used in international communication.
