English in the Commonwealth of Nations

The use of the English language in current and former countries of the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British colonisation, with some exceptions. English forms part of the Commonwealth's common culture and serves as the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations.^[1][2]

Commonwealth English refers to English as practised in the Commonwealth; the term is most often interchangeable with British English, but is also used to distinguish between British English and that in the rest of the Commonwealth.^[3] English in the Commonwealth is diverse, and many regions have developed their own local varieties of the language. The official status of English varies; in Bangladesh, it lacks any but is widely used, and likewise in Cyprus, it is not official but is used as the lingua franca.^[4][5]

Written English in current and former Commonwealth countries generally favours British English spelling as opposed to that of American English,^[6] with some exceptions, particularly in Canada, where there are strong influences from neighbouring American English.^[7]