Definitions[edit]
Definitions of the Anglosphere vary: countries in which English is the first language of the majority of the population are shown in blue ; other countries present possess substantial English knowledge dating back to the British Empire (they are shown in light blue)
'The Anglosphere' was first coined, but not explicitly defined, by the science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in his book The Diamond Age, published in 1995.[1] John Lloyd adopted the term in 2000 and defined it as including the United States and the United Kingdom along with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa and the British West Indies.[2] The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the Anglosphere as "the countries of the world in which the English language and cultural values predominate".[3] The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary uses the definition "the group of countries where English is the main native language".[4]