Introduction The Story of English is a video production series produced in 1986, by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions and the BBC as well a grant given by General foods. The series were written by Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum and William Cran. The Story of English showcases the journey, and progression of English as a global language through different eras of time and countries. English is a living organism that has alter and adapted itself to fit the mold and needs of the society it possess. The needs of a common language among different languages and people has created the needs of both pidgins and creoles. English has become the universal language of both of the sky and the sea. It has dominated the globe as being the most influential language …show more content…
English’s growth represents the power of political, economic and cultural development. English has continued to develop through its military and military influences on other countries. As English continues to evolve it brings with it the different variations of English as we see today. Some examples would include Valley girl, Gay slang and California Surfer talk. These English slangs emerged to become a part of the English we speak today.
The continuation and influence of English as global language soon makes its way to Asia. In most of the Asian countries, English is seen as necessity of a second language. It breaks the barriers between the world countries and allow relationships to be built for better businesses, education and social class for its people. The influence of English in Asia creates global modernization. English has become the language of the sky and sea.
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English’s hegemony creates both a positive and negative race towards modernization. The positive aspects of modernization and in economical, and educational growth is the relationships built overseas between different cultures and nations. These modernizations and relationships creates the needs of improvement in social welfare and lives of others. These needs are the ideas powering the production of new technology and cures waiting to be found. English as a global language brings together cultures of different backgrounds into a homogenized society which can be seen as both a positive and negative aspect. These homogenized societies crave the same materialistic commodities such as the latest technological gadgets, food, clothing and musical influences. It creates the no barrier zones which may led to the loss of cultural identity and language. Other times it may led to the production of a pidgin and creole. English is a living organism and a language without frontiers. Its evolution and adaptability to its environment produces the English we see and speak in modern society. As English’s vocabulary increases so does the vocabulary of our generations. The creation of English Slang has merged into the English vocabulary we speak today. More and more words are added daily to the English dictionary with the emergences of the need of self
Since it’s been a predominant topic of our discussion, let us talk about the infamous English language. We can be sure that it has painstakingly progressed throughout generations of reevaluation and modernization, and has thus become what it is today. It has gone in several directions to try and mesh with the various epochs of language, from the Shakespearean era to the common English slang we use now, we can all agree that English is a language that has been transcending and will continue to transcend into many
The United States is stuck in a conflict between keeping the tradition of multiculturalism and diversity, and assimilating into one singular culture. Caught in the middle of this struggle is language. Currently the United States does not have an official language, even though many governmental organizations try to pass legislation making English the official American language. The Cambridge Dictionary states that the definition of an official language is, ¨the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country 's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc” (¨Official Language¨ 1). This means that if the United States government establishes English as the official language, all government funded events
The author, Bill Bryson, briefly introduces and describes the history of English. In this book, The Mother Tongue, Bryson uses an interesting way and scholarly manner to guide readers through the various linguistic and social movements in the English language, the center of the world language as well as the export of manufactured goods. He gives different kinds of instances by comparing with various languages to present how the language merged together of interacting.
The desolate and chaotic conditions of the society can have a significant amount of influence on the development on a certain character of a novel. For instance, at the time the novel, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky was written, the conditions of the setting, was very chaotic and was in turmoil. Crime and Punishment took place in Russia, where Russia during the time Crime and Punishment was written was suffering due to economical downfalls and failure of the poor reforms of Tsar Alexander II; ultimately transforming Russia into a poverty-stricken country. The failure of Alexander’s reforms affected much of setting in which Crime and Punishment was written in, which ultimately contributed in character development of Raskolinokov. This is evident through the use of metaphor, which Dostoevsky uses to compare the state of the country to Raskolinkov’s apartment.
William Golding , the author of The Lord of the flies believes that evil resides in all human beings. The Lord of the Flies begins softly but nearing the end everything turns upside down. But would the world be the same way it is today without societal structure and rules? Only through societal structure, rules and order will humans be thought morality/principal and proper behaviour. The Lord of the Flies demonstrates what society would look like/resort to without any rules or guidance for man to follow. Others might believe this is true because of natural evil and actions done by individuals, a comparison through savagery and civilization, and certain truths in the world that are evil.
Growing up English was my first language and the only language I speak fluently. I speak English, write English, read English, and went to English speaking schools. I have always lived in the united states where English is the number one language used. It’s the language I use every day as well as the one used around me.
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad(1974), says that “ English is an international language, link language, important for social mobility, essential for personal growth and developmental, essential for higher
Sharma, B., 2008. “World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and English Pedagogy”, Journal of NELTA 13 (2), pp. 121-130. Available from
Contrary to what the early detractors of the American English language used to say, American English is not an offensive offshoot of real English, but has over the centuries made its own mark in the world of language and communication, and is also poised at this juncture in human history to actually slowly become the main dialect of English the world over due to the America-centric communication and technological advances made over the past few decades. It is hoped that this essay has given but a glimpse of not only what American English has become, but what it can yet become should America remain a social, cultural, and technological leader in years to come.
Growing up learning and speaking English has been something that was difficult for me at first but then came easy, but that was not the case for my mother. She spent her whole life speaking Spanish, so when she decided to take English learning classes it was challenging. However, she had me to help her throughout her struggle. I helped her complete her homework and assignments. We would also go to the library to check out easy level reading books to have her read to me. I would correct her English when it was wrong and do all I could to boost her confidence. It took me a while to understand and figure out what the best way to teach her was, but it was a fun experience for the both of us. Teaching her English was difficult because things that
Coming from a Spanish speaking household having to learn a new language can always be difficult. While, I was a child learning a second language was difficult. It was difficult for me to put words to use in the correct way. And use terms that make sense with one another term. It was difficult for me because some Spanish words sound the same as English words, and while learning I wanted to translate everything the way I say it in Spanish to English. For example, in Spanish “helo” means ice, but if you say it out loud it sounds like “yellow”. Little things like that will be a big issue to me. I have to put up with many looks from others and hear all sorts of criticism around me. Learning a new language at a young age was a struggle with reading
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
The Political, social and cultural impacts on the English language during its Old English phase.
It can be seen that English has become a global language, which is determined by lots of factors like history, culture and daily usefulness. Because of these factors, the number of people who speak English is still increasing now. English, as a significant part of social life gradually exerted profound impacts on education, job hunting and international communication. Also, it provides the whole world with a chance to share ideas and communicate freely. We are quite curious to see the further development of English as a lingua franca in the
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.