eng

Eng is the ISO 639-3 code for the English language. In linguistic and library contexts, Eng is used to identify English in both reference works and metadata. English is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European family. It originated in medieval England from a set of dialects brought by Anglo-Saxon settlers and later absorbed elements from Norse and Norman French. Modern English evolved from Old English through Middle English to Early Modern English, with significant standardization occurring in the 16th to 18th centuries.

The language is now spoken worldwide, with estimates of about 1.5 billion people using it to varying degrees, including roughly 375–400 million native speakers. It is the primary or one of the official languages in many countries and is widely used as a lingua franca in international business, science, technology, aviation, diplomacy, and entertainment. English is written primarily with the Latin alphabet, 26 letters, and employs diverse spelling conventions with irregular vocabulary and multiple dialects, notably American and British forms, as well as many regional varieties.

There is no single global standard; standard varieties are taught and codified in formal contexts, dictionaries, and grammar references. The language's adaptability has fostered extensive borrowing and neologism, contributing to its status as a dominant global lingua franca.