Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
English language as a global language
English as a global language
English language as a global language
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
DAVID CRYSTAL : Why English Is The World's Language? David Crystal is a British linguist,lecturer,author and academic.He is a broadcaster too.He was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1941. David Crystal’s authored works are mainly in the field of language, but he is perhaps best known for his encyclopedias for Cambridge University Press. David Crystal has been a consultant, contributor, or presenter on several radio and television programmes and series.Crystal often talks about the roots of the English language,its development and also an opportunity for a globalisation of the English language. Power always drives language.Language is global for one reason only and that is the power of people who speak it. In the nineteen century the power of money was the most important factor,so English language became a global language.The language of international banking became English too.Other reasons
The most important channels such as CNN and BBC broadcast US programs in English. This encouraged people to learn English in order to understand the broadcast and to follow the change operated in International Relations as well as in the world system; therefore, English became the International language completely declining the French language. Moreover, its large domestic market, relatively tolerant values, domestic diversity and geographic isolation all are helpful. But a hegemon it remains, and by that very it must make others uneasy (Understanding the Bush Doctrine, p385).
Language is universal, but there are different meanings and sounds, which vary from one culture to another. In China citizens speak many languages, but about 94% speak the Chinese language. The difference in dialects was overcome by the written word and eventually a version of Mandrin became the “official speech” (The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 1996,p.304). In America there are many ethnic groups with many varieties of language. The U.S. was created through many people from different countries migrating to the new states. In the U.S. there is an “official speech” which is the English language. The language of both these countries are not only different in meaning and sound, but also reflect the way in which the people in these societies live, believe, and function.
In your company, a position that pays a higher salary and has more regular work hours opens up so you decide to apply for the job. Your supervisor tells you that you cannot be considered for the position because although you are fully fluent in English, you have a Vietnamese accent. Instead, another employee who speaks with a British accent is interviewed for the position. In Myriam Marquez’s article “Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public” and Amy Tan’s article “Mother Tongue” we get a taste of what it feels like to be linguistically impaired and discriminated against. Through exploring Tan’s and Marquez’s articles, one can see the importance of learning a certain amount of English so one can get far in life and not be taken advantage of,
Crystal, David. The English Language: A Guided Tour of the Language. London: Penguin Books, 2002
The most widespread language in the world is English. It is spoken and written more than any other language. English is a West Germanic language that was first developed in early England, in the 5th century A.D. when Germanic Anglo-Saxon tribes invaded the island. The vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages in the early medieval period, particularly French. In 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy, invaded and took over the island of England and the Germanic language turned to French.
According to Hudson, a variety is ‘a set of linguistic items with similar social distribution’ . Since the term dialect has acquired a negative connotation throughout the years, academics have started to use the term variety, which is considered more neutral, instead.
A global language, is a language spoken internationally, which is learned by many people as a second language, the most popular one being English. A wide range of the lexical units in the English language were taken from German, Latin, French and other European countries. A large portion of the word borrowing uses as main source the French language justifying English language affinity for foreign words as well as mixed vocabulary. Crystal D. (2003: 7-10) argues that Languages have a strong relation between dominance and cultural power. The main reason that the languages exist is because of a strong power-base, political and military or economic.
The development of the English language was a combination of cultural, political, social and religious events that each playing their own part shaping the modern English language spoken today as a first language by 400 million people . As Baugh and Cable convey to us in A History of the English Language; ‘It understates matters to say that political, economic, and social forces influence a language’. Although it cannot be identified exactly when the inhabitants of Britain began to speak English, there are some sources that give an insight into the nature of the forces that played a role in its foundation such as: the four medieval manuscripts;
Question 1: Write your own definition of the term global language. A global language is one that is widespread internationally and used as the common one for communication between various groups and societies. It is the language that is most taught and learnt as a foreign and/ or a second language worldwide. This kind of language has a large amount of prestige, and official or special status. It is the language of politics, international business or economics, international communication, academic conferences, science, technology, tourism, media, publishing of books or journals, newspapers, and health sciences.
113-117. 151-195. The. English: A Linguistic Tool Kit, (2012), (U214, Worlds of English, DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University. English in the World, (2012), (U214, Worlds of English, DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University.
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.
The English language arose from the early Anglo Saxon inhabitants in ancient England and spread to Scotland and other European countries via the British Empire and later to the United States through colonial political and economical influences. It later dispersed to other parts of the world through these same influences to become one of the leading languages of the world. It has over the years developed by adopting different dialects to create a language, which is the standard lingual Franca in many countries. The rapid growth of the English language and its adoption by different cultures across the globe is sufficient ground to make it the global language.
Why has particularly English as a language become a global language? Researching this topic, answers to this question can be found in a global power the British Empire and the USA had during the history, especially since World War II (David Crystal, English as a Global Language, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, 2003). Most of the improvements which are essential for the mankind have their roots in English speaking areas and that is why English is dominating the globe in medical research, technological innovation and rock ‘n’ roll.
This essay will discuss how the English language contributes to globalization. It also shows some problems that arise from this. Furthermore, we will give or suggest some solutions for these problems.
English spreads widely in each countries, no matter the area of region or information transfer, English becomes an important position in global language. As the specification of a global language, it essentially refers to a language that learned and spoken internationally, so English can be the most out-standing. According to the number of English-speaking calculations, English is the official language used by most countries, English is the most widely used second language in the world, and the percentage of web pages with English content is estimated to be over 50% (Crystal, 2003). Meanwhile, the history and usefulness cause English to be a global language, and they mainly influence to spread English faster in China and to bring convenience