English is closely tied to at least two of the three major phases in human history: modern and postmodern. English has played a most significant role in the transition from modernity to postmodernity. An English factor is found in almost every key macro trend: be it business process outsourcing, the rise of urban middle class worldwide, the development of new communications technology, the changing nature and control of news media, or the reform of higher education.
India, managing simultaneously both modernity and postmodernity, relies much the process of globalisation for its ‘peaceful rise’. India has experienced steady and fast growth.. India revised its estimations of economic growth, showing that it had already overtaken many countries
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They sense a threat to their own cultures and fear that their languages will gradually lose their communicative functions, to end up finally as a dialect merely suited for local usage. As far as language is concerned, local/national languages are not replaced by English on the fundamental level of grammar, only their vocabulary is enriched by lexical items for which there is usually no local alternative. A case in point is the influence of English on Indian languages, which has been mainly lexical in the adoption of technical terms. Meanwhile, there has been a mild influence on the morphology of regional languages in that the acquisition of both direct loans pointed out that English carries a set of ideologies, values, and norms based on the history of its development and use. Local cultures should not see communication networks in association with English as a threat, but rather as an opportunity to promote their own languages and traditions and to revitalize them by entering into dialogue with …show more content…
some other reasons for the dominance of English around the world: its propensity for acquiring new identities, its power of assimilation, its adaptability to “decolonisation” as a language, its manifestation in a range of dialects, and its provision of a flexible medium for literary and other types of creativity across languages and cultures. There are two hypotheses concerning language power: the intrinsic-power hypothesis and the acquired-power hypothesis. The first one claims that, English would intrinsically possess certain linguistic characteristics that would make it a preferred language for international purposes. This position is similar to claims of racial superiority. The second hypothesis emphasizes the ways in which a language acquires power. English has also been referred to as a post-imperial language, signalling that colonial empires have given way to new types of alliance, collaboration and exploitation. Our world is increasingly dominated by Cola, Pepsi, KFC, Mc donalds, BBC, CNN, Microsoft, National geographic and discovery channel and the many transnational corporations for whom the key language is English, and who through processes of McDonalds and walmart are seeking to create a global consumerist culture, a single market. English is therefore a key and effective instrument in breaking down national borders. English became
Though the world economy as a whole has grown in recent years, a factor that is not taken into account is that the number “of the poor in the world has increased by 100 million” (Roy 3). In other words, the gap between rich and poor is widening. For India, this has startling implications. Though it is a nation that is developing in many ways, it also is a nation blessed with over one billion citizens, a population tally that continues to grow at a rapid rate. This population increase will greatly tax resources, which can create a setback in the development process. The tragedy, of course, is that the world is full of resources and wealth. In fact, Roy quotes a statistic showing that corporations, and not even just countries, represent 51 of the 100 largest economies in the world (Roy 3). For a country struggling to develop, such information is disheartening. However, there is also a more nefarious consequence of the growing disparity between rich and poor, and power and money being concentrated in the hands of multinational corporations: war is propagated in the name of resource acquisition, and corruption can reign as multinationals seek confederates in developing countries that will help companies drive through their plans, resulting in not only environmental destruction but also the subversion of democracy (Roy 3).
Identity. Social Injustice. Coming of age. Those are three out of several other themes that are touched on in The Diary of a Part-Time Indian, written by Sherman Alexie.
What do the works, “As Canadian as Possible under the Circumstances” and “I’m not the Indian you had in mind” have in common? The dissection of these writing pieces revealed that they do in fact have multiple similarities. Those ideas are the use of identity, stereotypes as well as double meanings.
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the impact of English language learners in the classroom. As a foreign student, English language learner in the United States faces multiple challenges for achieving academic success. To successfully complete a task, they need to master both English as a language and how it is used in core content classes especially when they are an adult. When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation,
As we mentioned above, one of influences that has made changes in English language over time is foreign
As technology is bringing the world closer together, increasing the contact between peoples of different languages and cultures, the English language has established itself as the tool for communication, becoming the lingua franca of today’s globalized society. This role that English has taken can be traced back to a unique evolutionary history that should be understood on two separate levels. This first level of evolution that English has undergone is in the nature of the language itself. The language has seen an evolution through the changing of words, sayings and pronunciation that has produced a language much different then that of its antecedents. On the second level, is the process and battles the language underwent to achieve linguistic hegemony amongst other world languages.
The usage of English language by people is common in every part of the world. Nowadays there are lots of people interested in English reading and speaking. According to Hung (2009), the world was in need of a common language at the end of the 19th century to communicate and they believed that this common langurage should be among the natural languages that existed at that time. So among other languages English seemed to be more suited to the world language (Hung, 2009). Since English has now become the language of diplomacy, book, medicine, airport, science, sports and technology, it has achieved hegemony above the other languages. (Gaffey, 2005). Although nowadays people use English a lot in their daily life, some non-English speakers believe that speaking English can destroy their own language. Although some studies suggest that English has naturally spread and do not harm anyone, there is considerable evidence that shows spread of English was motivated by some western countries and created a linguistic imperialism that has affected the culture, identity and language of the non-English speaking countries.
Everyone is a part of a community. Most people are a part of multiple communities. A community is a group of people that have a commonality. Sometimes it is based on where you live, hobbies, goals, etc. I believe that communities are created unconsciously and are connected to someone’s identity, especially when a person is considered a part of multiple communities. Sometimes, a person may connect very well with their community. Sometimes, a person may feel very distant from their community. In the movie, “English Vinglish”, the main character, Sashi, shows examples on how communities are created through commonalities, and the acculturation theory. Sashi was a part of multiple communities. A few communities included her, her Daughter’s school,
For my student interview project, I asked my roommate, Shelzia, all about her life in India. Shelzia was born in the U.S.A., but her parents are from India and she still has a lot of family that lives there, so she visits often. Her family is from Kerala, which is part of the southern tip of India. When asked about the official language of India, she said “I would say Hindi and English [are the main languages] but there’s actually over 249 languages. Hindi is most often used in the northern states of India, and Kerala is probably one of the biggest English-using states.” Other than English, she speaks Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil. Malayalam and Tamil are very similar languages but Hindi is from a completely different language family.
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...
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 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
English is fast becoming the dominant means by which the world is able to communicate. It is being referred to as the global language as it is seen as a common means for interaction between different countries. This new phenomena can be seen in a positive light because the use of English as a common language brings efficiency and greater understanding. Growth and development are not tolerant of differences and English becomes a means for international expansion. A global language is a world language that is spoken internationally which is learned by many people as a second language. A language becomes a global language by achieving a global status which is recognized all over the world. This essay will discuss to which extent English become the global language due to the fact that it is both easy to learn and superior to other languages.
The literature of India spans many millennia, describing a variety of lifestyles, traditions, and culture across a large and diverse area, written in dozens of languages. Famous works originating from India include poetry, scriptures, novels, and epics, all of which were originally written in different languages, ranging from ancient Sanskrit, Hindi, English, and many more regional dialects. The two most notable Hindu epics, Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are the most well known throughout the country of India. ("India's Epics, Ancient & Modern.") These two stories, which bear great similarities to Western works such as Homer’s Odyssey and the Bible, tell a tale of kingdoms and gods which contain many themes central to Hinduism, such as dharma and karma.
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.