White paper series the english language in the digital. There are good and bad sides of having english as a universal language. Why english as the universal language of science is a problem. Well, english is undeniably becoming the global language of the future with facts and stats to prove it. How english became the global language is a stimulating and worthwhile read in its own right, but is also a model for interdisciplinary approaches to complex social phenomena.
Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Sep 20, 2017 english, while hardly universal, has of course become a very powerful language. Aug 21, 2015 english is now so prevalent that in some nonenglish speaking countries, like germany, france, and spain, englishlanguage academic papers outnumber publications in the countrys own language. John adams rightly predicted that english would become the next world language. This list specifies many of the reasons why english became the universal language. Dec 20, 2010 from medieval manuscripts to text messages, many things helped make english the global language it is today, says author michael rosen. His latest book, the fight for english published by oup assesses the debate over rights and wrongs in english usage, with. And when you want something, the wise king of salem. It is the worlds second native language, the formal language in 70 countries, and englishspeaking countries are accountable for about 40% of worlds total gnp.
In fact, having people to able to communicate in english nowadays has become a norm. Unfortunately, learning a new language can get frustrating. To maintain the english effect we must continue to nurture and invest in english for the benefits, opportunities and value it brings to our trade, our creative industries, our culture and our people. This would remove the bias towards european languages which would put off a lot of people from learning, and place english speakers at a disadvantage, which would be a good thing. The global rise of english is a complex topic, and it deserves the kind of careful treatment found in northrups exceptional book. English language is a link language in social strata. And roger sherman of connecticut is reported to have urged americans to retain english and make the british speak greek. Why english should be the universal language essay bartleby. It has changed dramatically over the centuries since it first arrived on the shores of britain from the north of europe, and these changes mean that the language that was spoken at that time is almost incomprehensible to us now. Esperanto is the working language of several nonprofit international organizations such as the sennacieca asocio tutmonda, a leftwing cultural association which had 724 members in over 85 countries in 2006. English is the most popular second language l2 english is the international language of business, commerce, science, medicine,and many other key areas. How english evolved into a global language bbc news. The history of english english as a global language.
English 1 is the first of four standardsbased language arts courses provided by time4learning, and is a great addition to any homeschool approach. It is the worlds second largest native language, the official language in 70 countries, and englishspeaking countries are responsible for about 40% of worlds total gnp. Today, english is the lingua franca of world commerce and academia, but will it one day go the way of latin, the european lingua franca of the middle ages and into the 17th century. Oct 01, 2017 viking influence on the english language. There are many other universalcommunication languages in use a notable. English will remain the international language the linguist. The drawback of english as a universal language will be, that it will lose some of its richness. Although english currently appears to be in an unassailable position in the modern world, its future as a global language is not necessarily assured.
The number of people who speak hindiurdu, spanish, or arabic at home is in the same ballpark as the number of native. In this provocative new look at the course of empire, robert mccrum shows how the language of the angloamerican imperium has become the worlds lingua franca. With more than 350 million people around the world speaking english as a first language and more than 430 million speaking it as a second language, there are english speakers in most countries around the world. The influence of english as a universal language is a subject matter. Richter adds that english has become the language of diplomacy and international relations at global level 2012 and its proof is that united nations has recognized it as one of its six official. Now lets help you understand how the english language will be beneficial for you in the long run. There are many books written in regional languages too, however, more often than not, they are translated to english at some point.
Buy the paperback book is english destined to become the universal language of the world. Presented as an a5 hardback book and covering 166 pages, this is not an indepth account by any means, but it does pose some very interesting questions about what english is, what it may well become and how an awful lot of what is touted as standard i. Jul 27, 2018 the japanese novelist minae mizumura similarly describes english as a universal language. English is already a lingua franca, if not the lingua franca. People are increasingly concerned about whether the popularity of learning english is a positive trend. These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Given canada, england, and australia, the problem cannot possibly be the english language, but rather the way that language is used by 24news networks to manipulate voters and convince them. Postindependence, many countries became officially multilingual for the first time, but the various groups needed a language for communication with each other and with other nations. In a series of books culminating in 20s evocatively named. People have different theories on what effect english as a universal language will have on the. Universal language may refer to a hypothetical or historical language spoken and understood by all or most of the worlds population.
How english became the global language ef english live. Bbc culture how india changed the english language. The japanese novelist minae mizumura similarly describes english as a universal language. His crossgenre science fiction thriller, day 9, is an international book award. The rise of english in diplomacy began in 1919, in the aftermath of world war i, when the treaty of. There will be no universal language because a chunk of the worlds humanity will never learn a second language. But circumstances change, and there are several factors which might. To some, the widespread use of english is seen as advancing the political agenda of the english speaking world. Jeschonek is an awardwinning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. English has become an universal language essay 306 words.
Mar 06, 2014 postindependence, many countries became officially multilingual for the first time, but the various groups needed a language for communication with each other and with other nations. Pick up a book, learn a few words, or even start a course today and take your first. In 1776, one vote gave america the english language instead of german. Will english become the universal language of the future. If english became a universal language, the world will change in a range of. There was never any vote to make english the world language. Old english originated from a germanic tribal and linguistic continuum along the frisian north sea coast, whose languages gradually evolved into the anglic languages in the british isles, and into the frisian languages and low germanlow saxon on the continent. It is becoming more and more common for people to communicate in english. English became the lingua franca around wwii, but it was already used all through the british colonial empire, establishing it in north america and australia among others.
David crystals top 10 books on the english language books. Nowadays, english has become the universal language in the world. One landmark book records the etymology of colloquial angloindian words and phrases. It is the worlds second largest native language, the official language in 70 countries, and english speaking countries are responsible for about 40% of worlds total gnp. Sep 19, 2006 professor david crystal is one the worlds foremost linguistic experts. English has become a truly universal language a window on the world 10. Jun 22, 2015 how india changed the english language. We cannot forget that english is our window to the world and its use cannot be avoided. Will chinese, with over a billion speakers, or some other language eventually become the. About three times as many people are native chinese speakers as are native english speakers. As a universal language, english really took off with the english education act of 1835.
English is without a doubt the actual universal language. Because of the well development of the great britain in the history. English is the universal language essay 1182 words 5 pages. Anglophone countries include the united kingdom, the united states, canada, australia, ireland, new zealand and a number of caribbean nations. Noah webster championed a dialectfree federal english based on his spelling book and his own new england dialect.
This last path for englishlanguage learners was the most effective, though the english settlers did not focus on evangelizing the native americans, resulting in low but significant rates of englishspeaking converts. Can chinese replace english and become a universal language. Even countries like china and japan are now taking to english in a big way. How did english become a socalled universal language. For mizumura, what makes it universal is not that it has many native speakers mandarin and. When germany annexed south pacific colonies in the 1880s, pidgin english was already the lingua franca and they let it remain. How english became the universal language of the world. If english became a universal language, the world will change in a range of different ways, whether that be communication, trade, or culture. Not only was english the language of technology, but it. English is now the dominant or official language in 75. For the uk, the english language is a critical component of trust building and, in turn, trade and prosperity. Apr 15, 2012 english is now used almost exclusively as the language of science. The hegemony of english is so natural as to be invisible. English is a west germanic language and indouralic language that was first spoken in anglosaxon england in the early middle ages.
In the alchemist the overriding trope of the universality of mans desirethe soul of the universeis the universal language. How english became the global language researchgate. Travellers language kit the original picture dictionary bigger and better english, spanish, french, italian, german and russian edition dieter graf on. And in nearby rwanda the president has pushed for the abandonment of french in favor of english. Im dutch and most dutch people tend to wildly overestimate their proficiency in english. The bahaii faith, a universal religion originating in iran, maintains a universal language would promote dialogue, elicit better understanding among the people of the world and help build. The downside of english as the universal language the. Note that theres no hope whatsoever that english will become a universal first language.
More dramatically, in zaire, in 1997, fueled by antifrench sentiment, the french language was replaced with native languages. French used to be the language of diplomacy and the preferred language of international exchange. English is now the dominant or official language in 75 territories. English, while hardly universal, has of course become a very powerful language. As a worldwide student,it is important to talk and compose a standard english as opposed to the ideal english model in your mind.
English is widely spread all over the world and everybody knows that but i think its impossible for any language become universal because every nation has its own culture, and native language is. Currently, there are about 380 million native english speakers in the world. Muscat daily languages spread as their speakers interact with other populations that become enticed or forced by various factors to learn and use them. Why english should be the universal language introduction english is the global language of business today. Although to some extent the book did not fulfill my expectations of proving the case why english has become the global language, i think the author did a good job of weaving together historical facts to make a circumstantial case. In april, 1987, an election judge from missouri wrote to ann landers citing the following excerpt from the local election manual to support the argument that everyones vote counts. Some answers highlight the british empire that spread the language.
English is the most useful language in the world, and its universal language status proves that fact. The quest for a universal language throughout human. White paper series the english language in the digital age. I surmise that the standard of english is the essential needs of advanced dialect, what s more it can help understudies tuning in, the. English is an indoeuropean language and belongs to the west germanic group of the germanic languages. What we have seen in this course is that the english language is and always has been a diverse entity. The english 1 course focuses on the elements of the story. How english became the universal language of the world %. Its decline has continued, including the recent closure of french schools, as arabic and english become the standard. Is english destined to become the universal language of the. English as a universal language essay 1172 words bartleby. Undeniably, english is becoming one of the most popular languages. Like it or not, english is the global language of business. Millions more are taking english as a second or third language.
This means that, in this era of globalization, english has become a global language used not only in formal events but also in everyday life northrup, 20. And for many, many years it was the universal means of communication in western europe from the late medieval period to the mid17th. English for business, french for arts, diplomacy, etc. Mar, 2018 yet the difficulty of writing chinese characters, and the tonal nature of the language, make it unlikely the chinese will become a preferred language of exchange around the world. What makes this regrettable to many, and quite understandably, is that english was the vehicle of a rapaciously imperial power and now america is the main driver. I think that instead, a language should be based around arabic loanwords in other languages, but with simplified pronunciation and grammar. The number of people who speak hindiurdu, spanish, or arabic at home is in the same ballpark as the number of native english speakers. English language simple english wikipedia, the free. English is a universal language for a multitude of reasons. Nicholas ostlers latest book in the economist the future looks quite different. Sep 24, 2015 the number of american students who learned a language other than english decreased by about 100,000 between 2009 and 20, according to research by the modern language association. Will english eventually become the universal language. Why english should not be the international language of. In the alchemist the overriding trope of the universality of mans desire the soul of the universeis the universal language.
Universal definition of universal by the free dictionary. Do you think that the positive effects of this trend outweigh negative effects. White paper series the english language in the digital age sophia ananiadou john mcnaught paul thompson. For example, the english, which is a universal language and the highest frequency in the world. The number of people who speak hindiurdu, spanish, or arabic at home is in the. Simplicity is not essential for a language to become widely spoken but it does help. Mar 19, 2019 english is the most popular second language l2 english is the international language of business, commerce, science, medicine,and many other key areas. Aninterna tionally renowned writer, journal editor, lecturer and broadcaster, he. Published on august 5, 2017 august 5, 2017 6,401 likes 391 comments. Many of the best mba programs are taught in english, so speaking it well can put you. Nevertheless, linguists find it to have the right number of alphabets to be easily learnt. English can be used everywhere with educated people around the world. Is english the worlds current universal language because.
English language has been widely used in many countries across the world as the main medium in the fields of. In some contexts, it refers to a means of communication said to be understood by all living things. Introduction the phenomenon of the english language transformation into the global language arouses an intense academic interest in the theory and practice of the generally accepted language of worldwide communication smokotin, petrova, 2014. Homeschool high school language arts english 1 course. The latter part of the book also looks the issue from different angles india and china which add to the analysis. Survival the global rise of english is a complex topic, and it deserves the kind of careful treatment found in northrups exceptional book. Can chinese replace english and become a universal.
People often talk about english as a global language or lingua franca. Barbara wallraff is a columnist on language for the atlantic monthly and the author of three books, including word fugitives, which will be published in march. Why did english become a universal language and when. It may be the idea of an international auxiliary language for communication between groups speaking different primary languages. Many multinational companies are assigning english as the common corporate language, such as fast retailing, nokia, samsung, technicolor, and microsoft in beijing. It will light the path for future studies of global english. Homeschooling high school language arts english 1 course overview. English is now used almost exclusively as the language of science. English as a global language with millions of popular intuitions at a level which had simply not existed a decade before. You may think of latin as the dominant language of science.
In the middle ages, latin seemed forever set as the language of education and culture, as did french in the 18th century. Of course english is a global language,they would say. How did english become the worlds most spoken language. But, will english ever become the universal language of the future.
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