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Politics and the English language summary
Impact of globalization has on international business
Impact of globalization has on international business
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Recommended: Politics and the English language summary
Investigate the causes of a possible decline in popularity of English on the world stage English is known as a World Language with 359 million people speaking it as a first language (L1) and anything from 470 million to 1 billion as a second language (L2), the number varies depending on how literacy and mastery is defined and measured (Exploredia, 2011). The English language is not so much known as a global language due to its qualities or even its structure, but more to do with the politics of the world. The British Empire had expanded to almost a quarter of the world’s surface by the early twentieth century, resulting in the English language reaching all corners of the globe (A World of Languages, 2014). English may have been the dominant …show more content…
A reason for the decline in the English language and rise in Mandarin is due to global business, one of the key players is now China, with countries such as Brazil, Singapore, Germany, France, Korea and Canada all doing business in Chinas national currency renminbi, not the US dollar, this means there is less of a need to use the English language (BBC, 2012). However, many business’ in China still look for managers that can speak both Mandarin and English, this shows that even though Mandarin is growing in importance in the business world English is still sort …show more content…
This leads to a domino affect across the globe with other countries wanting to keep up with the largest economy in the world – America. English is still a dominant language, with millions of people learning it as an L2 language, through TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language), University and other outlooks. However, there has been a decline in English as an L1 language, in 1950 nearly 9 per cent of the world spoke English as an L1 language, and it is estimated that by 2050, less than 5 per cent will speak it as an L1 language, this supports the decline in English globally. By 2050 it is thought that English, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic will be equally ranked as languages (English in Decline as First Language,
There are a lot of students being placed whose primary language is not English. Students walk into a mainstream classroom not being able to speak English. Students in this situation are call English Language Learners(ELLs). These students are not receiving appropriate language support to succeed in their language development which is causing them to not have the ability to acquire language.
The statistics of those not speaking English could lead to the idea that English is diminishing in certain sections of the United States. An example of this is shown in the article “Why the U.S. Needs an Official Languag...
With this, English is becoming more commonly used, not just as a foreign language to learn, but for education, medicine, and even diplomacy reasons. In his essay, when he was talking about the United Arab Emirates, hitching also mentioned that Arabic is their language for school, religion, home, and culture, whereas learning English over there is “symbolic of modernity, work, higher education, commerce, economics, and science and technology” (271). This associates English with a more advanced outlook if one would want to get a higher education or find better work. English is getting a name for itself and it is not a bad name. People are not just learning it for a class, they are learning it for business, higher education, and many more reasons around the world. Julie Traves mentioned in her essay that there are about 380 million people worldwide speaking English as their first language, whereas it is estimated that anywhere from 350 million to about 500 million people speak it as a second language. The English language is spreading throughout the world through education, science, technology, and the culture which is another reason why English is the best language to
Schneider, Edgar W. English Around The World: An Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.
Sharma, B., 2008. “World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and English Pedagogy”, Journal of NELTA 13 (2), pp. 121-130. Available from
Hung, T. T. (2009). How the Global Spread of English can Enrich Rather than Engulf Our Culture and Identity. 13.
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’s proliferation throughout international education and international media has caused most countries with higher education and access to the media, such as mainland Europe, to already have significant exposure to the language. This has caused a large percent of the population, especially in the younger generations, to have some degree of English proficiency (Modiano, 2009). Additionally, according to Dombi (2011), English is the most highly desired language to learn in most European countries, likely do to its presence in institutions of higher
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 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;
...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.
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
The spread of English where it used as a foreign and/or a second language may be compromised if it is replaced by another language such as Chinese or Spanish. For example, if China continues to gradually dominate the world economically, politically and technologically, its language could replace English as the major foreign language taught and learnt in various countries’ education systems because they b...
English is one of the most frequently spoken languages in the world. While it is taught as a second language in numerous countries it is the primary language of 71 countries including America and the UK. Learning English Language has become so imperative that without the knowledge of it one cannot expect to be at top of ladder.
In order to visualize the “global” as an adjective in the collocation “global language”, a study has shown the numbers of people speaking the language. According to them, there are about 6000 languages in the world and not surprisingly English is at the top of the list of most dominant. In the world there are 375 million first-language speakers, approximately the same number of second-language speakers and about 750 million foreign-language speakers (David Graddol, The Future of English? A Guide to Forecasting the Popularity of the English Language in the 21st Century. British Council, 1997). According to magazine Economist, more than one billion people speak some form of English. These numbers could make people think that English is really conquering the world which can be both positive and negative.