Linguistic Domination of English by the United States

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The Tongue of Dominion It is inherent in the nature of any living organism to procreate, multiply, and expand, thus furthering the species. But what happens when one species inhabits every corner of the earth? Where, now, will they go when that insatiable desire for conquest has left them bereft of any untrodden tract of land around which to urinate? Imperialism is "the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence" (Merriam-Webster, 2003) of one social or political body over another. In the history of the world, many empires and cultures have engaged in such a maneuver, often resulting in the oppression or bloodshed of the annexed peoples. In the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, imperialism reached its peak. The United States of America involved themselves is the controversial seizure of the Hawaiian Islands, and the supposedly reluctant annexation of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico; but they were still disinclined to abandon their long-standing isolationist policy regarding the messy colonial affairs of Europe; that is, until Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese military. The American leaders had joined the ranks of French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian expansionists who were throwing their weight around, trying to knock the earth off it's axis until all the power had shifted into their laps. After World War II turned the U.S. into top dog, the U.S. would find it all but impossible to revert back to isolationism; but their policy regarding imperialism had changed, and Americans no longer wished to impede the sovereignty of independent nations; but there are other, more subtle ways of exerting influence. Some empires have attempted religious imperialism (although in som... ... middle of paper ... ...ich means that cultural combination will occur. As Robert Kennedy once said, "Progress is a nice word, but its motivator is change, and change has its enemies." So yes, I believe that ultimately, the linguistic imperialism of the English language over the less powerful nations of the world is a good thing, and shouldn't be criticized. Do I possess any ethnocentric, elitist sentiments regarding native speakers of foreign languages? No, I think that there are many other languages that would be just as capable, if not more, of being a satisfactory `Earth Common'. But I cannot be sure how long it will take for the world to get organized. Technology will almost certainly be invented which will slow the unification process. That can't be helped. However, at the moment, it seems as though English, the tongue of dominion, will claim a few nations before that occurs.

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