English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in England and is now the most widely used language in the world. It is spoken as a first language by a majority of the inhabitants of several nations, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and a number of Caribbean nations. It is the third most common native language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. It is widely learned as a second languageand is an official language of the European Union, many Commonwealth countries and the United Nations, as well as in many world organisations.