English as Global Language Essay

The phenomenal rise in use of position has mainly taken turn up over the last two decades. slope has reached high status beingness-wide because of sev periodl(prenominal) factors as the mother tongue of millions of passel all(prenominal) over the world, as the run-in that millions of children learn at cultivate and the row that is utilize in international relations, for spheric colloquy and as the major media talking to. The importance of a spherical linguistic process has become major, in some contexts much(prenominal) as communication, e.g. international web-pages on the Internet, position is the only lecture employ. In addition, English is used to establish and maintain connection and relationship amid deal with unalike backgrounds from unalike cultures. In this discursive essay, I willing establish the variant aspects of a global lecture and how it will affect cultures, nonage spoken communications and communities all over the world. Disposition of bod y Definition of Lingua Franca Do we pauperism a global linguistic communication? Should English be a global vocabulary? wherefore/Why non? Which standard will be the Standard? / Strict or loose standards? Will inwrought speakers take return? What will happen to minority linguistic communications and communities?Method originally I started to write the essay, I tape relevant literature. David Crystals English as a Global wording contains a crapper of useful information, and so does Sociolinguistics by Peter Trudgill. In order to get hold I want polar aspects on the subject, I also used the Internet for research. I was also interested in average masss opinion, on that pointfore I asked approximately 40 hatful of opposite backgrounds, age and sexual practice what they think of English as a global oral communication.1. Definition of Lingua FrancaMevery people do not lie with what a lingua franca is, therefore I will start by defining the limit Lingua Franca and als o tell a molybdenum about its recital. 1.1 Lingua franca is Latin and means cut vocabulary. The front text written in a lingua franca is from 1353, barely a simpler form of it appe ard in the 11th century. The origin of this term is from the modern era when French became the dustup mostly used in commerce and delicacy amid the European countries. Not only French serves as a lingua franca, some(prenominal) European languages had the same status e.g. English, Greek, Latin and German. The term lingua franca became so common that it continued to be used for any universal language. (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca 2005)1.2 A lingua franca can be any language which is used for communication among people who have no native language in common. In galore(postnominal) of the former European colonies in Africa, French or English are used as the language of communication in trade and business. (Trudgill 2000132) In some parts of Africa, other African lingua francas, such as Swahili and Hausa, are used. These languages are indigenous in some countries and have become used because of governmental reasons. When a language is used as a lingua franca, it undergoes a certain sum up of reduction and simplification. The simplification oft refers to getting rid of irregularities and grammatical gender in the lingua franca. This happens because adults are, unlike children, generally not good language learners, and therefore need a simplified version of the language. (Trudgill 2000165) Should English be the Global actors line?People in general have unalike opinions on English as a global language. There are positive as intumesce as negative aspects of this. Do we need a global language? Why do we need it? Why should English be the beaver pick? 2.1 Translation has al focuss play a central role in interaction between people with contrary languages and language skills. Thousands of years ago, monarchs, ambassadors and merchants had to rely on some unmatch able-bodied to translate. further the much linguistically mixed the community got, the less they could rely on individuals to ensure their communication. Most of these problems have been solved with a lingua franca or a pidgin. A pidgin is a language constructd, usually spontaneously, from a kind of other languages as a means of communication between speakers of different languages Pidgins have simple grammar and few synonyms. The prospect that a lingua franca capacity be needed for the whole world is something that has arisen in the twentieth century. Since the 1950s, many international organisations have come into being e.g. the UN and the World Bank.Also political groupings e.g. The European Union and The Commonwealth have come into being. The pressure to buzz off an agreement concerning one language has become urgent, but it is a refined issue. (Crystal 2003 12-13) The need for a global language is mainly appreciated by the international academic and business communities , but also by individuals as the world becomes more and more global. (Crystal 2003 12-13) 2.2 Why English has grown as much as it has, and why it exponent be seen as the best option for a global language have more than one answer. One is the geographical-historical reasons, and another is the socio-cultural. The geographical-historical part explains how English has reached its position and the socio-cultural explains how and why it cadaver that way. (Crystal 2003 29) 2.2.1 English came to England from northern Europe during the fifth century and started to spread more or less the British Isles. (Crystal 2003 30)The historical movement of English around the world began with the expeditions to Asia and the States and continued with the colonial developments in Africa and the South Pacific. When many colonies became independent during the mid-twentieth century, they unploughed English as their official language or semi-official language. This led to a major step forward for the En glish language it is represented on every continent and on islands in the three major oceans, devising the label global language a reality. (Crystal 2003 29)2.2.1 The socio-cultural aspect looks at the way people in many ways have become dependent on English for their social life and for their economic well-being. English is the language of many business and political domains and also the language of entertainment such as television, the film industry, the music business, communication (internet, telecommunication and computers) and safety. (Crystal 2003 29) 2.2.2 Todays status of English has mainly two reasons the expansion of the British colonial power and the emergence of the economical power of the United States. The latter is what scientist represent explain the status of English in the world today. (Crystal 2003 59)3. substantiating and prejudicious Aspects on English as a Global Language 3.1 Positive aspects of English as a Global LanguageAccording to photograph (2005), English has, without doubt, reached the top position in the language hierarchy. Almost 30 % of the population are already reasonably competent in English. As the language of commerce, economy and politics, knowledge of and fluency in that language is cooperative when participating in these fields. The economic power houses, the political bodies and commercial organisations also use English as their language of communication. More than 85% of the scientific, technological and academic production in the world today is performed in English. By using English you are able to communicate with people in almost all countries all over the world. English is the most widely spoken language with regards to number of countries, fifty-fifty though Chinese, Hindi and Spanish have more native speakers. (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language 2005) The case tycoon be that even in countries where one of the other languages is spoken you will be able to communicate with the inhabitants, usi ng English as a lingua franca.It is often taken for granted that one speaks English and when someone does not, one susceptibility be looked upon suspiciously. I asked approximately 40 people from different backgrounds, different age and with different nationalities which language they would prefer as a global language and the majority answered English. The following reasons were given It is the language you hear and read every day the younger generations have learned it in school and it would be the best global language because it is the most spread all over the world. The people, who disagreed, said that Spanish would be the best global language, because it has more native speakers than English.3.2 Negative aspects of English as a Global Language Even though there are many positive aspects of having a global language, there are negative aspects as well. How would it be come-at-able to carry through a global language? Are there any dangers with having a global language? A global l anguage might cultivate an elite class with native speakers, who take advantage of the possibility to think and work quickly in their mother-tongue. If this was the case they might manipulate it to their advantage at the expense of those who has another language as their mother-tongue and in this way create a linguistic gap between people. (Crystal 2003 14-15) English has a history, sometimes cruel and violent with colonialism and war, and introducing English as the global language might be seen as a bane of future dominance. Perhaps a global language will tie people unwilling or unable to learn other languages and stag other languages unnecessary. (Crystal 2003 15)One of the risks having only one language is that the chosen language may become very technical and impoverished for non-native speakers, e.g. the Eskimos, who have several wrangle for snow, because they need it. They would probably not be able to present themselves properly if they only had one word for snow. And Sw edish people would not be able to use the word lagom, a word which says a lot about the Swedish society and people. Many of the people who answered my move about English as a Global Language, uttered a worry that if we only had one language, they would feel poor when it comes to expressing feelings and emotions in a language that is not their mother-tongue, that they would not know enough words to be able to really express how and what they feel.4. Standards which standard should be used? Strict or loose standards? English is the mother-tongue of millions of people in different parts of the world. If English were to become a global language, which standard of the language would be the global standard? Perhaps the standards would become looser. 4.1. Standard English is the English that is usually used in print. It is also the English which is unremarkably taught in school and to non-native speakers learning English. This is also the standard that is spoken among amend people and used for news broadcasts. (Trudgill 2000 5-6) Historically, the British Standard developed from the sou-east part of England (the area around London).These dialects were spoken in court, used in law and by the government. (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English 2005) Standard English has a widely true grammar, and an accent that comes with this standard, the British English accent, also known as the Oxford English, is the accent that is taught is schools. (Trudgill 20006-7) Furthermore this English has a major cultural influence, especially on the languages in the former Commonwealth countries, e.g. South Africa, Australia, and India as well as the European Union. (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English 2005 ) 4.2 We often hear about American-English, South African-English or other Englishes, but no such terms really exist. The different types of English are based on the British English but have developed grammatical and vocabulary differences because of influence and loa nwords from other languages.(Trudgill 20006-7)5. secondary Languages and culturesWhat will happen to minor cultures and languages if we introduce a global language? An introduction of a global language might lead to disagreement of other languages. Losing a language equals losing identity. The language is much more than reasonable a tool for communication. According to Trudgill there is an intimate relation between language and culture and a large homogenisation of culture might lead to a shift in language where native people adopt another language and eventually the old language may die out. There is a difference between language close and language murder. Language death is when a language disappears by nature its speakers are leaving it voluntarily, but language murder means that the grampus language actively discourages use of other languages.Minority languages may be acceptd from the media and educational systems. English is referred to as a killer language, which means t hat it is a dominant language learned subtractive, at the comprise of the mother tongues, rather than additively. (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_language 2005) In the United States there have been a few English Only movements, the first one in 1803, when they outlaw the speaking of French among the population in Louisiana. After that, several attempts to remove Spanish and French have taken place. English is declared as the official language in several states in the US. The English-Only movements have been rejected by linguistics they mean that a language does not create political unity, it takes more than that. The use of one single language in a community is no guarantee for social harmony or mutual understanding. This has been proven several times during the history, e.g. American Civil War, Spanish Civil War and former Yugoslavia. (Crystal 200316)6. ConclusionThis essay has shown that the creation of a global language has numerous advantages and disadvantages. Mutual inte lligibility, great career opportunities and bring down administrative costs are some of the advantages a global language would give. The disadvantages are that English is closely linked to the British and the American cultures and history and is therefore not a neutral language. Perhaps a language with less historical and cultural connections would be a better option? We are in need of an international language for communication, politics, trade and security, but at the same time we are worried about language death, the advantages native speakers will have and all the disadvantages non-native speakers will face. English is growing, it is a strong language, and its future seems bright. My opinion is that if there will ever be an international language, English is the best option. It is a strong, well developed language with millions of speakers. Even if a global language might be important, different languages are of importance for their culture and for the development of their nati ve speakers. Languages make the world more interesting and more alive.