lol I also have an aussie flag option on my computer. I presume that includes a combination of both UK & US spellings.
I believe the same is true for many countries around the world. Even in african countries there can be multiple languages spoken in that country as african countries are not divided by language or culture. Also with asian countries you get great variations of the official language (which is usually that of the capital city.) You get hill tribes who speak very differently ... arguably not even dialects in some cases. Look at China ... you have over 50 accepted minority groups with their own dialects & in fact there's more that have not been officially recognised by the Chinese government. Same applies to Thai or Vietnamese. I had great problems understanding southern vietnamese but when I went to the north, it was like a breath of fresh air. I could not only understand them clearly but they could understand me without problems. But then in the middle of Nam they speak quite differently. They also have their hill-tribes as does Thailand & indonesia, philippines, etc. Philippines has multiple languages for example spoken by large %'s of the population. Even Japan has multiple dialects. Those in Nthn Japan have problems understanding those in the central (around old capital), south or particularly those in the minor islands.

What I want to know is what makes any country or culture think they own a language. The British got English from German decent according to Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language . So by LauMars definition of who claims English, it should be the German Flag not the Union Jack. But who really cares I live in the US. I speak English, and the English I speak is right for me. The way I spell it is correct to me. (some of the time I am not the best at spelling or grammar) I really don't care if I spell it differently or use different pronunciation. Allot of the world has English as a required subject in school. And most of them that were not influenced by British occupation are using the US English. Languages evolve and change new words are made for new things and they will continue to change. Sorry but I do not believe the English language belongs to the British or anybody. I stick by my other post that LimeWire was developed in the US thus the US Flag by the English language is proper. I also believe that if it was developed in the UK the British Flag would be appropriate.

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A little common sense goes a long way

Later Grandpa

English is the main world business language. But it's certainly not the most abundant. Look at India & chinese languages combined & you have probably almost 2/3 of the world's population. (My calculations might be a little out but I'm sure I'm not too far off!)

English ... a conglomerate of many sources both from centuries past & of present influences. So who (which country) is the recognised official language of english? Where did the Oxford dictionary come from. Where did pidgin english come from. There's lots of it in New Guinea. lol How about we all speak Pidgin english. After all, pidgin english is a combination of the local & english languages. And how many pidgin english languages are there out here? How many variations of english speech & spelling are there out there. So how about we call it pidgin english & have a flag of a pidgeon on a dinner plate or in a fox's mouth? Or image of Pidgeon droppings below where the pidgins sit on the flag pole. (umm ... I think I'm starting to stray somehow. whoops! ... english is what we get wherever it comes from ... ever tried reading an english translation of a manual made in China or ... how about aboriginal english. Not sure if any of you saw the postings not so long ago in the FrostWire section of such a young lad. Lives just a handlful of hours drive away. It was his country after all! We're just passing thru hopefully .. or renting it on lease! Midnight Oil!)

That's why I want Esperanto to become the world's main second language.
It's far easier, and you can't go as wrong with it as with english.

http://www.esperanto.net/
http://www.lernu.net/

PS: Sorry for the OT, couldn'T refrain myself

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Aw comoan you lot. Whits aw this guff yer spoutin. De yeas no relise that the best way tae speak english is wae a scots accent an no thon estury english wi nae life tae it at aw.