Presently, English is the most wide spread language in terms of the number of countries that speak the language as a mother tongue or foreign language. Regardless of languages such as Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish having a great number of speakers, English dominates as a foreign language for many. A Newsweek Magazine article, written by John McWhorter, ranks English as the world’s international language today and states it is likely to remain this way in the future (McWhorter). Writer Dorie Clark for Forbes Magazine also supports this claim from an economic perspective, whereas English is seen as the global language of business as well (Clark). The importance of English is measurable by its increasing expansion in several nations around the world. The majority of Europe is beginning to speak English, leaving only five European nations that do not speak it as a popular foreign language, as stated in a Daily Mail online article by Steve Doughty (Doughty). The language is everywhere, from popular culture, western movies and music, literature, news, schools and more. The domination of English in media, its increasing global expansion, and significance in the economic industry make it the most important language today in terms of social mobility.
Media is one means of communication that links us all together. This can include, but is not limited to, news, television series, movies, and music and radio centers. 80% of the world’s electronically stored information is in English, dominating the internet (Mydans). Since so many people on a daily basis access the internet, internationally people all around the world notice English, which increases its popularity and brings attention to its importance in regards to social mobility. This s...
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...factors, as well as the relative easiness in learning the language, it is understandable to regard English as the most important language today and in the near future.
Works Cited
Clark, Dorie. "English - The Language of Global Business?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 Oct. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
Doughty, Steve. "English Is the Lingua Franca of Europeans as Two Thirds Speak the Language Which Has Squeezed out All Its Rivals." Mail Online. N.p., 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
"English Won't Dominate as World Language." Msnbc.com. N.p., 26 Feb. 2004. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
"Lingua Franca." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, 2005. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
McWhorter, John. "Why Learn Mandarin? China Won't Make You Speak It." Newsweek. N.p., 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Mydans, Seth. "Across Cultures, English Is the Word." New York Times. N.p., 9 Apr. 2007. Web. 28 Nov. 2013.
Not Only English: Affirming America's Multilingual Heritage. 1990. The. ERIC. Web. The Web.
...lish is driving a wedge into the world by making its self-known to the people around the world; hence, English is trying to become the global language. With American’s economy hanging on a thread, English as a global language could be in danger of dying out and letting another language take root in its place. This is similar to how Latin died out.
Crawford, James. “A nation divided by one language.” Guardian.co.uk. 8 Mar 2001. Web. 11 October 2014
As a result, this cross-national concept has implications on English and has fostered two additional terminology, World Englishes and World English.World Englishes refers to the different forms of localized variations of English outside of the United States of United Kingdom and is different from the idea of World English. This is related to Kachru’s concept of the circles of English, discussed later. World Englishes is the idea that different variations of English arise through various political and social influences. These language variations vary and in many instances acquire different meanings and lexicon. World English is the concept of English as a Lingua franca and used for global activities, such as business, diplomacy and trade. In this instance, English is following in a long line of global Lingua
Mujica, Mauro E. “Why the U.S Needs an Official Language.” Worldandi.com. 2003. Web. 31 July 2011. .
Since the 16th century, the language of English, which in theory, stems from a small island between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, has, to an extent, stretched across the world, with as many as 50 countries now using it as their official language (British Council, 2013) in some form or another. This spread was seemingly due to several influential factors: the expansion of the British Empire, Britain's leadership in the industrial revolution, American's economic and political ascendancy from the late 19th century and the spread of English through technology like the internet (E. Schneider, 2007: 1). From American English to Australian English, each country has socio-linguistically developed its own variety of English, through undergoing different processes of development and integration. The linguist, Kachru (1922), put forth a model to categorize these varieties of English, although whether the model is deemed Eurocentric or not is debatable, yet it does appear to be one of the more popular models which separates the 'world Englishes' into three concentric circles namely the inner, the outer and the expanding circle. These 'world Englishes', a contentious term to catalogue the varieties of English present, are, for some, used in diverse contexts, such as for trade, business and international communication and are often linked to countries in the expanding circle of Kachru's model, such as Russia, Brazil and China (K. Bolton, B. Kachru, 2006: 225).
Focus on the Learner Page 1 Introduction American culture has to be one of the most, if not, the most popular and sought after way of life in the world. From their food, to their typical mannerisms, the United States is one influential country. Their speech is no exception, in order to compete or join into the U.S. market or culture, one must be familiar or an expert in the language. This is why, if not already taught in school, English is in high demand in countries whose primary language differs. Many countries welcome English speakers to teach their interested citizens.
Today, 1.9 billion people speak the English language; more than one-third of humanity (U.S. Bureau of the Census). English is also the national language of many countries- countries with a multiple of different cultures- including India and several populous countries in Africa. People in those countries use English to conduct common and o...
Sharma, B., 2008. “World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and English Pedagogy”, Journal of NELTA 13 (2), pp. 121-130. Available from
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.
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 is, almost certainly, the most important subject that a child can learn in school. Without knowing proper English, a child will not be able to communicate effectively with the English speaking nation. They would be shut off from education and other people in this country. A person who does not poses proper English limits his or her ability to achieve their highest potential. Knowledge of the English language is important to learn to be able to communicate with others, in the teaching of immigrant students, and in finding and maintaining a job.
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
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.
First, English is the tool that allows communication with people from other countries within the globalized world in which we lived. It is indisputable: English has become the global language of communication par excellence, one of the most popular in the world. It is an