An
Anglophone (or
anglophone) is someone who speaks the
English language. As an adjective, it refers to belonging to an English-speaking population especially in a country where two or more languages are spoken. A related term, the
Anglosphere, refers to the group of countries whose de facto language is English.
Cultural
In a narrower sense, the notion of "Anglophone" reaches beyond the mere dictionary definition of "English-language speaker". The term specifically refers to people whose cultural background is primarily associated with English language, regardless of ethnic and geographical differences. The Anglophone culture is largely the legacy of the
British colonial empire.
Canada
In
Canada, the term "anglophone", or the
abbreviation "
anglo", is widely used to designate someone whose
native language is English, in contrast with
francophone (someone whose native language is
French) and
allophone (someone with any other mother tongue). The latter term is rarely used outside Canada in this meaning (
allophone has a different meaning in linguistics). See
English-speaking Quebecer.
See also
References