English as a world language

English as a world language:

The first significant step in the progress of English towards its status as a world language took place in the last decade of the 16th century and now, “322,000,000 people speak the English language.” Information obtained from the 13th Edition of the Ethnologue (1996). It is strange that a language that started on a small island 1500 years ago as the result of the invasion of a few Germanic tribes is the international language it is today.

English is widely regarded as having become the global language but will it retain its pre-eminence in the 21st century? The world in which it is used is in the early stages of major social, economic and demographic transition. Although English is unlikely to be displaced as the world's most important language, the future is more complex and less certain than some assume. The reason for the vast spread of English as a world language is also down to the British exploring and colonising many other islands and countries around the world. The ships that traded and explored on these faraway coasts needed small ports, so the sailors would stay in these areas to build the port whilst talking to the indigenous people. From this a form of English such as a Pidgin, and then a Creole, developed. British rule from colonisation in some countries meant that millions had to learn English, and India is a good example of this. After India’s independence, English was kept as a Lingua Franca as it did not give dominance to any of the native language. From here the English language became the language of success and so ambitious families ensured their children were educated in English.

English is also a very accessible language as it is a hybrid language. 10 000 words have been ‘borrowed’ from French and other European languages, thus making English, to a German, Scandinavian or French speaker, possibly easier to learn as some parts of the Lexis are similar. We also ‘borrowed’ words from less politically and culturally powerful languages such as ‘Canoe’ and ‘kayak’, which originated from Inuit. So non Indo-European languages can also relate English to their own language.

The age of computers is promoting further English use, and the Internet is a very good example. The major designers and manufacturers of computers and the best inputs to the ever growing Internet are English speaking Americans. In fact, English’s continuing world dominance since the Second World War is due to America’s political and economical power. Scientists worldwide work in English as well, so the best research papers and textbooks are produced in English. Therefore those studying at a high level are forced to use and learn English.

English is also becoming a gateway into the more economically developed world

E.g. a person from Mexico who speaks fluent English can use this ability as a kind of social passport into English speaking countries, especially America the land of opportunity, whereas on the other hand, non-English speakers can be denied access simply for not speaking English. If they do get in to the country, their position is usually low in society as they are unable to communicate well, even if they very qualified and skilled individuals.

Even in France where the government is very pro-French, 80% ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

English is also becoming a gateway into the more economically developed world

Even in France where the government is very pro-French, 80% of primary school children learn English and in the state schools around 5 lessons are week are spent on teaching English. This is despite strong feelings about its dominance which are shown in laws enforcing the use of French words rather than English loans in the media.

But why worry about the global future of the English language? It is a language of capitalism in a world in which socialism and communism have largely disappeared. It is also the main language of international commerce and trade in a world where these sectors seem increasingly to drive the cultural and political aspects. It has many more cultural resources, in the sense of works of literature, films and television programmes, than any other language.

The Economist has described it as, 'impregnably established as the world standard language: an intrinsic part of the global communications revolution' (The Economist, 21 December 1996, p. 39) Therefore it must be obvious that the English language will continue to grow in popularity and influence, without the need for special study or strategic management.

The simple answer to some of these questions you’ve heard and maybe thinking of is probably, ‘Yes, there is no imminent danger to the English language, or to its global popularity.’ (A fact that is recognised by the majority of people who are professionally concerned with the English language worldwide.)

Worldwide, there are over 1,400 million people living in countries where English has official status. One out of five of the world's population speak English to some level of competence. Demand from the other four fifths is increasing. ... By the year 2003 it is estimated that well over one billion people will be learning English. English is the main language of books, newspapers, airports and air-traffic control, international business and academic conferences, science technology, diplomacy, sport, international competitions, pop music and advertising. These all have major roles and impacts on people all around the world.

The roots of the present period lie in the industrial revolution, which began in Europe and in particular in Britain. It can be argued that its starting point was even earlier — in Renaissance Europe which gave rise to the nation state and national languages, to modern science and institutional structures. The fact that the world has reached a transformative moment in language through a long historical process is remarkable looking at the amount of change and moulding that’s gone into the language.

This section deals with key global trends, each of which are now helping transform the need for communication between the world's peoples — from population shifts to economic globalisation; from the invention of the Internet to the restructuring of social inequality. It is these trends that will shape the demand for English in the future, even though they interact in complex ways.

Demography
How many people will there be in 2050? Where will they live? What age will they be? Population projections exist for all the world's countries and answers to such demographic questions can help us make broad predictions about a question at the heart of this study: who will speak what languages in that century?

The world economy
The economic shape of the world is rapidly changing. The world as a whole is getting richer, but the proportion of wealth created and spent by the west will decrease markedly in the next few decades. This will alter the relationship between the west and the rest of the world — especially Asia — and will change the economic attractiveness of other major languages.

The role of technology
Advances in technology in the 19th century helped 'kick start' the long wave of economic growth, which is yet to reach some parts of the world. Technological change transforms the spaces in which we work and live, but it is difficult to predict precisely how technology will shape our future global patterns of language use.

The legacy of history
Britain's colonial expansion established the pre-conditions for the global use of English, taking the language from its island birthplace to settlements around the world. The English language has grown up in contact with many others making it a hybrid language, which can rapidly evolve to meet new cultural and communicative needs.

English in the 20th century
The story of English in the 20th century has been closely linked to the rise of the US as a superpower, which has spread the English language alongside its economic, technological, and cultural influence. In the same period, the international importance of other European languages, especially French, has declined.

Who speaks English?
There are three kinds of English speaker: those who speak it as a first language, those for whom it is a second or additional language, and those who learn it as a foreign language. Native speakers may feel the language 'belongs' to them, but it will be those who speak English as a second or foreign language who will determine its world future.

Language hierarchies
Languages are not equal in political or social status, particularly in multilingual contexts. How does English relate to other languages in a multilingual speaker's repertoire? Why does someone use English rather than a local language in debating or speeches?

Looking from a different prospective, is English a suitable universal language?

Apart from being widely used and known, English is extremely unsuitable as a universal language. There are several reasons to this.

Any national language, defined as a language which is or was originally the language of a particular tribe or nation, has obvious defects when used for international communication:

A) Native speakers of the language are in a quite different position than others. Some people regard this as bad in itself, as contrary to the equality principle, but I think it is practical consequences that make it bad. Native speakers tend to use idioms and rare words and to speak too fast, unless they exercise conscious control over their language - and such control is difficult and unnatural when applied to one's mother tongue. Therefore in oral communication in particular native speakers of English often have worse problems in getting themselves correctly understood than nonnative speakers!

B) National languages exist in various dialects and forms - sometimes they are even mutually unintelligible, but the differences always make communication harder. If English was to become world language There is usually no standard for a national language, and even if something that can be called standard exists, it is just one form of the language - typically a form that is only used by a minority, and even by it only in a minority of occasions. For a native speaker of a language, it is natural to use one's own dialect, and it is difficult to avoid this entirely; this emphasizes the importance of the above-mentioned problem of native speakers expressing themselves in international contexts.

C) When you learn your native language in your childhood, you learn it by listening to and talking with people who have it as their native language. First they know it much better than you, later equally well. Thus it is very natural human behaviour to use your native language with the unconscious but strong assumption that the listener or reader knows the language to the same or even higher extent than you. In international contexts, this built-in assumption is almost always false, and this has severe consequences. For instance, we may tend to regard people as stupid or ignorant if they do not understand the language even though may well be extremely clever in their own language; this deep-rooted tendency is present even if our conscious mind understands the situation correctly.

D) A national language carries with it the history of the nation. For instance, words and phrases have got, in addition to their dictionary meanings, connotations, colours and associations. This is an important cultural phenomenon which helps in keeping the nation a nation, but in international communication it is a burden as there may be tradional echos within the speech or connotations of long ago racism.

These remarks apply to most languages but especially to English. One of the worst relics of English is the orthography. English has a very rich repertoire of idioms, and it typically has several words which have the same basic meaning but different connotations and stylistic value. Especially in international contexts you can never know what words mean to people with different backgrounds. Thus, you may occasionally get your basic message understood in some way, but you cannot tell in which way. This is of course an inherent problem in all human communication, but the nature of English makes it a really big problem.

English is a language which tends to borrow words from other languages instead of constructing words for new concepts from older words with derivation or word composition. People often say that English has a rich vocabulary as if it were something to be proud of. The richness of the vocabulary results basically from word borrowing and implies that words for related concepts are typically not related to each other in any obvious, regular manner. Word borrowing makes a language more international in one sense, but in the essential sense it makes it less suitable for international communication, since learning the vocabulary is more difficult.

Results from the questionnaire:

Do you think the english language is in a stable and safe position within world languages?

Figure 1: Responses to the Global Questionnaire

The press release for the launch of the British Council's English 2000 project in 1995 summarised the position of English.

A graph to show students visiting Britain to take english languages courses against the months of January and August