English is spoken all over the world and English is being spoken all over the world. Please have a look at my questions and assumptions about these sentences

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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  • English is spoken all over the world. We know that for a fact, but we also know for a fact that Water boils at 100°C. In school I was taught to use the simple present for what my teacher called a general truth.

  • English is being spoken all over the world. My assumption is people never stop speaking it. We know when we’re asleep we don’t speak, however, since the earth revolves around the sun and people get up in other parts of the world they start speaking English. So it’s on-going fact and therefore we use the simple present continuous or progressive.

What do you say? Is there any or little signifcant difference in meaning between those two sentences?
More importantly which one of those two would you choose? I’d say the first one or perhaps even both.

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If you want to state a general truth you are more likely to say ‘English is spoken all over the world’. Using the present progressive can serve several purposes. For example, you can express your excitement about the fact that English is so widely used or you can use it if you want to compare the current language situation to what it was like years ago.

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I fully concur with you, Torsten.

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Thank you both for shedding some light on this.

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Hello, Sir Anglophile. Thank you for “Concur”= agree.

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