Frisian is the language closest to English. The vocabulary of English was heavily influenced by other Germanic languages in the early Middle Ages and later by Romance languages, especially French. English is the only official language or one of the official languages of nearly 60 countries, and it is also the main language of the most countries in the world, like in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, and South Africa. It is also the main languages in Australia and New Zealand and is widely spoken in parts of the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia.