Official language after unifying the country in 221 BC. Classical Chinese would remain the standard written language for the next 2000 years. Standardization of the spoken language received less political attention, and Mandarin developed on an "ad hoc" basis from the dialects of the various imperial capitals until being officially standardized in the early twentieth century. According to an undated chart by the American pro-English-only organization known as U.S. English, 178 countries have an official language at the national level. Among those, English is the most common with 67 nations giving it official status. French is second with 29 countries, Arabic is
History of Egypt under the British issued in French. This was partly because of the fact that many well-off Egyptians received their education in French, but also because of the prominent status of the French language internationally. Despite efforts from British legal personnel, English was never adopted as a language of the Egyptian civil courts during the period of British influence. Foreigners tried for civil offenses attended mixed Egyptian-foreigner courts; these courts used the French language as the medium of proceedings. Courts operated by embassies and consulates tried their respective citizens in regards to criminal matters. History of Egypt under the British The history of Egypt