English as a global language - good or bad?

English as a Global Language - Good or Bad? English, which is spoken by 1.9 billon of the world's population as their first language, has been spreading rapidly in the world since the British Industrial Revolution and colonialism in many continents such as Asia, Africa and North America during the 18th century. As the influence of English is increasing, some linguists think that it is a natural process of successful international communication. However, many other languages are also dying out at an accelerating rate because of the expansion of the English language. In discussing the issue of the growing influence of English; arguments, both for and against, should be considered, particularly, in the economic, the information exchange, the linguistic aspects and the aspect of alteration, unity and differentiation. In this context the English language is accused of being a killer language that wipes out smaller languages as well as the cultures they represent. Scientific researchers have found out that in fact many small languages have already vanished, such as Xam, a Southern Khoisan language used by hunter gatherer communities of Southern Africa (source E). English may not be the world's most widely spoken native language, as Chinese, with 1151 million mother tongue speakers, nearly double the number of English mother tongue speakers (source D). Although as Mandarin is the

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  • Word count: 1038
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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Legalized gambling brings big revenue for the cities.

Outline THESIS: Legalized gambling brings big revenue for the cities. Taxes, tourism incomes increase. But at the same time violent crimes increase about 200 percent in the city. Social-welfare costs, gambling problems, losses of jobs, economic disruption of other businesses increase. Population goes down. We can say that it brings nothing but crime, corruption, demoralization of moral and ethical standards, lower living standards. Introduction . Historical Introduction 2. Legalized Gambling Types + Casinos + State Lotteries (gambling by the government) 3. Legalized Gambling and Its Economical Effects 4. Legalized Gambling and Its Social Effects 5. Some Statistics and Graphics 6. One Example for Legalized Gambling: Minnesota Conclusion Historical Introduction Gambling was popular in North America long before the USA was founded. "Playing cards and dice were brought by the British. By the end of the 17th century, just about every country seat in colonial America had a lottery wheel. Cockfighting flourished throughout the countries, especially in the South. Bear Baiting was also a popular sport, but the Puritans banned it." (Orbitz, 1984, p. 46) "Almost 100 years later gambling in the West gave gambling a second life. Early church leaders struck down all forms of gambling and so in the East gambling for the most part died completely. Far from both

  • Word count: 3426
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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Is it a good thing that english is beconing a dominant global language

Is it a Good thing that English is becoming a Dominant Global Language? English, which is spoken by 1.9 billon of the world's population as their first language, has been spreading rapidly in the world since the British Industrial Revolution and colonialism in many continents such as Asia, Africa and North America during the 18th century. As the influence of English is increasing, some linguists think that it is a natural process of successful international communication. However, many other languages are also dying out at an accelerating rate because of the expansion of the English language. In discussing the issue of the growing influence of English; arguments, both for and against, should be considered, particularly, in the economic, the information exchange, the linguistic aspects and the aspect of alteration, unity and differentiation. Firstly, the argument for the issue is that the growing influence of English benefits the international economy. Most countries today, for example, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, the UK and the USA, are eager to trade with other countries as it is more profitable to do so. Some of these countries have their own language and this will lead to an inconvenience due to the difference in languages. Thus, there is a need of a global language to ensure all business transactions are performed smoothly without misinterpretation among all buyers

  • Word count: 516
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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Belonging: Speech

I want you to do something for me, I want you to think of your parents, now in the same thought put yourself there. Tell me, what have you inherited from your parents, is it just their physical appearance or is it their way of thinking also. What if I were to tell you that it's something much more, that each and every one of us, have inherited our parents sense of belonging or not belonging. This hereditary trait if you will, is revealed in such texts as Bruce Dawes 'Lifecycle', where young children inherit belonging to football. The movie "Ace Ventura 3" as belonging is present in the Ventura family by saving animals. And Cat Stevens's song "Father and Son" which tells a story of a son thinking he belongs somewhere other than home. These texts all have belonging passed down from generation to generation. You all know "Lifecycle", a poem by Bruce Dawe, that runs football parallel to religion. Football is the centre of belonging for the newborn children. In the opening line "When children are born in Victoria they are wrapped in the club-colours", it displays the use of hyperbole to emphasis the strength of the inherit belonging to a football club. A simile is used in "they break surface and are forever lost, their minds rippling out like streamers", this shows the day the young children are committed into the cult of football, just like their parents before them. This

  • Word count: 650
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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Louis Farrakhan and Afrocentricity

Communication 350 Louis Farrakhan and Afro-centricity Louis Farrakhan was born May 11, 1933, in The Bronx, N.Y. At the time of his birth, his given name was Louis Eugene Walcott (known as Gene). Farrakhan was raised by his mother in Roxbury, Mass. in a high disciplined and highly spiritual household. His mother believed in the value of work, responsibility and intellectual development. Having a strong sensitivity to the plight and misfortune of Black people, she engaged him in conversations regarding the struggle from freedom, justice and equality. During his early years, Farrakhan's childhood was filled with open rejection of African Americans in the neighborhood that he lived in, which was predominately Jewish. Couple with these experiences and the racial discrimination of the past, these experiences fueled his distain for whites and for the Jewish community. As the public knows him, Louis Farrakhan is the leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and is regarded as one of the world's most controversial Black speakers. He is widely known for his outspoken and candid speeches that many consider to be extremist rhetoric, which is consistent with racial and religious distain. Outside of these ideas, Minister Louis Farrakhan is one of the best known and most articulate Black Muslims in America. Described as a "self-avowed racist" after he called Judaism a "gutter

  • Word count: 2800
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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Mobile Phone Use: Assess The Risks Compared With The Benefits Of Mobile Phone Use Particularly In Relation To Young People.

Mobile Phone Use: Assess The Risks Compared With The Benefits Of Mobile Phone Use Particularly In Relation To Young People. By Rob Corley Mobile phones, the 21st century way of communicating, are they a great thing that works wonders and revolutionize people's lives? Or are the risks to high a price to pay? I am going to investigate the risks of using mobile phones. Around 1/4 (6 million) of mobile phone users are under the age of 18 and the number of young users is expected to rise with the total numbers of users is meant to rise to 1.2 billion by 2005 with the fastest growing market as the 9-10 year olds. Consequently the questions - are children more at risk than others and what are the risks need to be asked and answered. Firstly health. The area of the brain and its reaction to radiation is very vague and scientists are not 100% sure about anything. There have been no specific experiments carried out by scientists and there is a big gap in our scientific knowledge in this area, but it has been shown that mobile phone use does affect brain activity and experts consider children to more vulnerable there are many reasons for this one of these is that children are not fully developed and their skulls are thinner and so it is easier for the radiation waves to penetrate the skull whereas a fully grown person will have a thicker skull and so is less at risk, although it has

  • Word count: 1099
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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Have You Got The Bottle To Quit

Communications Reading Level 4 Have you got the bottle to quit? : This communication piece "Have you got the bottle to quit?" has been presented in the form of a newspaper article. The article was published on the 9th December 2001 in THE SUNDAY TIMES broadsheet newspaper. The article was written by Elisabeth Mahoney and is written in a fairly complex manner. 2: I think the target audience for this communication piece would be someone with a good educated background as this piece was published in THE SUNDAY TIMES which is an educational broadsheet newspaper, some of the text is fairly complex which would take more of discerning type of audience to understand it. I also think that this article would be interesting to Scottish people in general as the main story line is about "Scotland's drinking habits all the way back to the 18th centaury". 3: I think the two main purposes of this article are to, one - raise awareness in regards to Scottish peoples drinking habits. The writer achieves this by highlighting facts and figures of surveys that have been done throughout the years (a Mintel survey published in October suggested 14% of the population abstained from alcohol, up from 10% in the mid 1990s). Two - to cause debate. I think the typical Scottish person could maybe take offence to this article. Reading through the article the writer can maybe be accused of

  • Word count: 840
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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ROLE OF YOUTH IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

ROLE OF YOUTH IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT The term - nation building or national development, is usually used to refer to a constructive process of engaging all citizens in building social cohesion, economic prosperity and political stability in a nation in an inclusive and democratic way. Going by the definition, it is seen that all citizens are to be involved in building or developing a nation. Thus, the involvement of youth in national development is a must. In fact, youths play one of the most important roles in nation building. Youth are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but also the partners of today. Young people are social actors of change and progress. They are a crucial segment of a nation's development. Their contribution, therefore, is highly needed. Youth always has been the key to any of the activities in the world be it war, politics, construction works; you name it and youth has , is and will have been involved, there's no 2 way about it. The hunger, desire, motivation, determination and high energy of the youth can make all the difference in either destroying or building a nation. Proper guidance and direction can bring the youth in the forefront of national development. The young have passion, dreams, and hopes. They have bubbling enthusiasm which has to be regulated and utilized the right way. This can surely ensure rapid national development. After all, all

  • Word count: 594
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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Self Awareness and Opportunity Awareness

Self Awareness and Opportunity Awareness Assessment Introduction I have undertaken 5 classes to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses on various topics associated with employability and careers. The classes use a variety of tests and other methods to analyse me in order to produce reports on each topic. This report will summarise these topics and my conclusions from the classes, as well as reflecting on the exercises and how I found the results and their consequences. Employability Skills Employability skills are one of the most important skills a person can learn. It is one thing having the necessary qualifications for a job, but if you don't have the employability skills required, you will not succeed. From Class 1 on "Employability Strengths and Weaknesses" I found out that my main strengths were my organisation and work skills. For organisation, the class discovered that my main strengths were setting and reaching targets, prioritising tasks and meeting deadlines. These points are all related and vital at University and also at a job in "the real world". Without being able to set targets and accomplish them, nothing would ever get done and in life targets need to be set and reached in order to progress. They can be used to monitor you and see improvement, which is a large benefit. My main weakness in my organisation category is my motivation. Sometimes I can't get

  • Word count: 1834
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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AQA General Studies B Unit GSB4 Coursework

'We are the custodians of our planet. Investigate the extent to which humankind has failed to uphold its responsibility' It is said that human beings are the custodians and trustees of God's creation. Our responsibility is to act as 'stewards' of the world God has created for us. The Bible discloses Christian stewardship and the human responsibility of the created universe clearly and explicitly in Genesis. It outlines what God has created us for and what he expects of us as humans- created in 'his image' - as described in Genesis 1:26-301. But have we ignored this responsibility? The world has upheld its responsibility, to some extent, by developing the Kyoto protocol, as its main objective is to reduce its greenhouse gases that cause climate change. The European Union, as well as several other important countries, have signed up to the treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the levels specified within the treaty. This indicates that the global community has recognized the need of reducing emissions, and has considered our 'stewardship' our number one priority. The carbon footprint is the means by which we can estimate how much both individuals and businesses contribute to the greenhouse gases; it is a 'measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide'. It is thus

  • Word count: 1694
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: General Studies
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