English - the universal language?

AS and A Level English

English - the universal language?

At present, English is undoubtedly an international and universal language. It is becoming more and more important in non-English-speaking countries. Its universal language position, once gained, tends to be strong. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: '' The English language is a sea which receives tributaries from every region under heaven.''

There have been other more or less universal languages in history, for examlpe Latin. But the term '' universal'' is relative, it implies universality in the ''known world'' or ''civilized world'' or just in a large area. Any language has been really universal, but the present position of English is close to it. Since ''everyone'' knows and uses English, people are forced to learn it and to use it.

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The position of English differs from one country to another. There are countries where English is the native language of the majority, there are countries where English is a widely known second language, and there are countries where English hasn't any special position. The development and spread of English is a unique story, unrivaled by any other language. At the time of Christ, English didn't exist. By the time of Shakespeare, English was the native tongue of only about 5-7 million people; all of them were Englishmen and women. Today, English is used by, at least, 750 million people. ...

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The position of English differs from one country to another. There are countries where English is the native language of the majority, there are countries where English is a widely known second language, and there are countries where English hasn't any special position. The development and spread of English is a unique story, unrivaled by any other language. At the time of Christ, English didn't exist. By the time of Shakespeare, English was the native tongue of only about 5-7 million people; all of them were Englishmen and women. Today, English is used by, at least, 750 million people. Less conservative estimates put the figure at over 1 billion. English is today the only truely worldwide language. There are more native speakers of Chinese in all its varities than there are native speakers of English, but only a relatively small number of people outside China speak Chinese.Over half the speakers of English are not native speakers of the language.

In general, English is a vague collection of languages called ''English'', because their common origin is the national language spoken in England by the English. That national language has spread over the world, and several variants such as American English, Australian English, etc exist. A large number of people whose native language is none of the variants know English as a foreign language.

Over a half of the world's scientific and technical journals are in English. English is also the language of computers and the internet. It is the language of international cummunication and it is used in all transmissions to and from commercial aircraft, even when the aircraft are on domestic flights. One of the reasons for the dominant possition of English in the world is the economic and political importance of English speaking countries.

One of the areas where we encounter English every day is the internet. We use the internet not only at work or at school, but also for entertainment. It has become considerably important to know how to use the internet and all its services. We are able to learn how to use the internet quite quickly, but it takes years to learn to speak a foreign language fluently. In words on one syllable, English is necessary for living on the internet, but also in many other fields of our lives.