engelsktalande

Engelsktalande is a Swedish term used to describe a person who speaks English. The word can function as a noun or as an attributive adjective, for example en engelsktalande (an English-speaking person) or engelsktalande befolkning (an English-speaking population). It is a compound formed to denote someone who uses English as a language.

The concept refers to language ability rather than nationality or ethnicity. An engelsktalande person may be a native English speaker, a fluent second-language user, or someone who regularly uses English in work, study, or social life. The term is commonly employed in sociolinguistic descriptions, census data, education, media, and market research to characterize groups by language use.

Engelsktalande differs from engelskspråkig in nuance. Engelsktalande emphasizes the speaker and their use of English, whereas engelskspråkig describes something related to the English language itself or a region where English is the primary language. In practice, the choice between the two can reflect whether the focus is on people (engelsktalande) or on language and content (engelskspråkig).

Usage and context vary, but engelsktalande remains a neutral, descriptive term in Swedish for referring to individuals or populations that communicate primarily in English. It is commonly found in journalism, education, demography, and sociolinguistic research when discussing language profiles.