The English language is a West Germanic language which began developing in what is now England during the 5th century AD. Over the following 2500 years, English morphed and grew into a world language and, by the 31st century, has become the lingua franca of Earth and most of the known Universe, being spoken by an unknown, but likely immense, number of humans, aliens, and robots.
In the real world, American English is the language in which Futurama is originally written. As such, nearly every line of dialogue is in English and many of the jokes reflect an American perspective on the world.
- Aliens that speak English is a common trope in science fiction, with well known examples being Star Trek and Stargate SG-1. See here for more.
- Further, the alien languages that do exist in Futurama are simply ciphers of the English language, replacing the Latin alphabet with different symbols.
- English is a borrowing language, evidenced by the number of words invented by the writers of Futurama.
- Because the show is originally written in English, only quotes that specifically reference the English language should be included.
Zoidberg: [Angry.] Fry! I challenge you to Claw-Plach! [He clacks his claws.]
Fry: English, please?
Zoidberg: A fight to the death.
Bender: Hey! That galaxy's signaling in binary! I gotta signal back! But I only know enough binary to ask where the bathroom is. [Shouting.] You speak English?
Galactic Entity: I do now.
Cubert: And why do we need a bending robot around here anyway? What possible use do we have for you?
Bender: Uh... Me no speaka the English.
Bender: [From outside.] Come out and groom my mangy fur!
Fry: [Turning on his lamp.] Huh? Bigfoot? You taught yourself English?
Green alien: 'Ere you go. "In memory of the 1st Planet Express ship and it's crew".
Leela: Hang on. [Leela points at the statue with her left hand.] It's shouldn't have an apostrophe. This means "and it is crew". What the hell's wrong with you?!
Green alien: It's a minor error, lady. I mean, we're space aliens. [The green alien points at himself with his four hands.] It's a miracle we can even speak English.
Hermes: Excuse me, but we're guests on your planet. Speak English!
Professor: I see your mother, the water Mutant, didn't raise any fools, Turanga Leela. Our only hope is to communicate with the Aliens. And show them our peaceful intentions.
Bender: Perhaps they speak perfect English... As do we.
Amy Wong: It seems their movements are a form of language. Rather than speaking Ja—
Transition Announcer: English!
- Because the show is originally written in English, only appearances that specifically reference the English language should be included.