The discourse about the use of English as a global language comes at a time when there exists cultural, political and economic supremacy among nations that are speaking different languages. The rise of nations such as China to the global platform and the influence of France in the European Union are making both the Chinese and the French languages to gain respect in the world. Beyond this, English remains a formidable language that can serve to unify all nations of the world. Firstly, English speaking countries have the powerful global status than other countries, English is a flexible language, making it easy to learn. This regards the fact that its grammar is generally simpler than most languages. Thirdly, English is a familiar language, …show more content…
It is only English that has been close to this threshold, because it is spoken in many European, American and Caribbean countries as a mother tongue. Spanish is spoken only in Latin America, and this does not offer it the universal aspect.Evidence to the effect that some languages are much easier to learn than English have not stopped English from being the most taught foreign language in the world. English is the most taught language in Brazil, Germany, Spain, Russia and China. This is enough evidence to showcase the fact that English is favored even by those nations that are competing with it for global status. In countries such as Algeria, the English language has replaced French as the chief foreign language. This is despite the fact that Algeria is France’s former colony, yet French is expected to be the foreign language of choice. Scientific research nowadays still need to be translated into English because English can attract wide audience than the languages that are hardly to know (Science Beyond English …show more content…
This regards the fact that a user can be able to use one word as a verb and as a noun. Moreover, the ability to rephrase sentences in active or passive form makes it easy to use. For instance, the active form, I kicked the ball can easily be changed into its passive equivalent of the ball was kicked.English is a rich language also because it has a highly developed vocabulary. This richness makes it to be much more developed than other languages. For instance, the 1989 revised Oxford English dictionary has about 615,000 words in 20 volumes (The History of English 4). This makes it to be the world’s largest dictionary. This volume excludes technical and scientific words, which would have made the dictionary to be longer. Even then, the language continues to grow each year, with evidence suggesting that the English lexicon is increasing annually at the rate of 8500 per year. Moreover, the availability of a large number of synonyms allows a variety of distinctions, which are never available in any of the other
...nology is moving ahead at the speed of light. With all this advancement comes the inevitable need for a language that unifies the world. The need for a common language to conduct our business and economic affairs, and our need to communicate internationally on political and world interventions has made English the leader in world languages. It is not the language spoken first by most, but it the language that the world uses when it comes together to communicate.
Zelander, Emilie. “English as a Global Language – Good or Bad?.” MittUniversite: Mid Sweden Univeristy. N.p., 2006 Web 13 Oct. 2013.
For a long time, English has been considered as a global language. David Crystal, British expert, says “Global language is a language spoken internationally by people who speak different language without replacing their native language” (David Crystal, 2003). Nowadays, people who speak other languages such as Mandarin have increased. Although there are some people who think English will be no longer the global language in the future, English will continue having the same power as now.
The aim of this project is to present to all of you who are interested what is an international language and why we are used and also why English is the most important international language in the world. You can find below some statistics about the most common language in the world, about the nations in which English is an official language. You can also read some information about English’s history and when and why English started to be an international language, used for so many countries as an official language, and learned for so many countries as a second language.
It has led to the development of new dialects and modification of existing ones. The British Empire has been able to spread the language across the globe and to date it is the most widespread language and most used in foreign transactions. Currently, the population of non- native English speakers is higher than native English speakers. This is a clear indication that English has become an international language.
It has been adopted by different sectors making it one of the most used languages in the globe. This has been attributed to its effective nature, easy learning and rich history. However, conservative groups exist who argues that there should be global language since it may cause the emergence of superior cultures. Nevertheless, it is evident that different cultures ranging from the early polish immigrants, the African American community, the advertising and media will greatly benefit from the globalization of the English language. This will prove in the end that English is indeed a global
English language has become the common international language and has become the lingua franca. In addition, English is frequently the language of international interaction (Su, 2006). In relation, instruction of English as a second language is preferred. Furthermore, English has reached the position of being an international language which has led to important consequences for its teaching in an educational system.
For many years, the thought of English being the official language of the United States has come with a little controversy. Some argue that English should be the official language because it is the most dominant language in the world. Some believe by doing so, it would create a stronger unity among the American people. Proponents believe that although the United States is diverse, it may be too much for the American people to juggle multiple languages. Others believe that English shouldn’t be the official language and instead be one of many prominent languages that are widely used in our nation such as Spanish, French, and Chinese. I believe English should be the official language in the United States. However, I believe more emphasis should be placed on learning new languages especially among youths in school and during developmental stages.
Experiencing those days where people would laugh at other for the broken English; the grammar and pronunciation are the toughest parts of the language. People with English as a second language always stumble upon difficulties; however, the determination of learning a new language do not decrease easily as the motivation is still surrounding one’s mind. Today, English has become an international communication; even the teaching and learning of the language has already spread throughout the world. English is known as one of the most common use language and has been offering classes everywhere for years especially around Asia; additionally, the world common language has now become the number one language uses in every fields of career that is being offer everywhere. Non-American students should be required to take English class as a second language in school
...tead of adding brand new words, today the English vocabulary is expanded by blending words that have already been used over the time and by back-formation.
We are often at a loss of words. It has been observed that the Indian languages have borrowed extensively from English to fill the voids. This has been found beneficial today by many because they are able to communicate exactly what they want to and are understood just the way they should be. In this manner we have seen the emergence of modified languages like Hinglish (Hindi + English), Manglish (Malayalam +English), Spanglish (Spanish+English) to name a few4. Therefore English has in a way improved our languages.
Over the years English inarguably has reached a status of a global language and commonly is characterized as a lingua franca. It has become the language that is spoken by millions of people all over the world; as the mother tongue, as the language used for international communication and as the language learned in the millions of schools.
The emergence of English began to appear in 5th century AD after the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians invaded Britannia in the 4th century. Referred to as Old English back in the day, the language has undergone several transformations to where it is now called English. Today, over 750 million people speak English as a language and at least half of those use it as their mother tongue (McCrum et al., 2002, pg. 9-10). Many people rely on English to serve them financially and for social purposes (Crystal, 2003, pg. 29). Besides this socio-cultural factor, it has gained prominence around the world as several countries have adopted their own variety of the language and English is being used more frequently as a foreign language. Together with this geographical-historical factor, the socio-cultural factors allow English’s future as a “global language” to become more of “a reality”. To understand how English has spread across globally, we will look at a model created by Braj Kachru. Kachru’s model of the spread of English is divided into three concentric circles: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle (Kachru, 1992:356). Countries such as the United States, Australia and Britain are part of the Inner Circle. According to Kachru, the English in the Inner Circle are “norm-providing” varieties where it is the dominant language (Davies, 2005, pg. 45). Other places such as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong are part of the Outer Circle, where English was brought over through colonial means (Davies, 2005, pg. 45). The English in the Outer Circle territories are “norm-developing” varieties that have recognized the growing importance of English as a language and in these areas; English has been given a higher status. Melcher...
Many people may ask, " What is the Bayeux Tapestry?" In the following paragraphs, the significance of the Bayeux Tapestry will be recognized.
More than one billion people in the world speak English. English is quickly becoming the dominant language by which the world communicates. It is being referred to as the global language because it is seen as a common means for interaction between different countries. Almost everywhere in the world you can find English: it is the most taught in the world and probably one of the the most commonly used languages by politicians all around the world. While this phenomenon can be seen in a positive thing by some people because the use of English as a common language brings efficiency and greater understanding internationally, others like myself, are not so certain because language and culture are closely connected, and therefore when a country’s language is overtaken, so are the traditions so important to their culture.