The English Language There are nearly 7000 languages spoken in the world. Among them is the English language. Richard Lederer, a retired high school teacher chose this language to be the subject of his essay “English is a Crazy Language.” In the essay, Lederer describes English with respects to who uses it, when it is used and how it is used. They justify his claim that English is the most widely spoken language in the world. The English Language has been in existence for many years. This is thanks to many early conquers who spoke the language. As a result, today English is used by “at least one out of every seven human beings around on the globe” (Lederer 216). With that many speakers, the reality in Lederer’s words that “half of the world’s
“Intrinsic arguments describe the English language as providential, rich, noble and interesting. Such arguments tend to assert what English is and what other languages are not”. As mentioned previously, notwithstanding that the english language is widely-spoken around the world, diversity is important and for many individuals language is the basis of their culture. Making english the global language is essentially
Some people even believe that English is global language because 80% of the internet content uses the medium of English to communicate with the internet users and some other evidences. Although these arguments are valid, they don’t make English as the global language. In this article, Ms. Wallraff has responded to such people who are ignorant of the facts about universality of English language and have firm belief that English is
With the globalization, the English Language became the main language of the communication in the world. In this perspective, Dennis Baron discusses in his article Who Owns Global English” the omnipresence and the prevalence of the English in today’s society. For Dennis Baron, English has become the key success in the world platform.
English as we know it is indeed the dominant language, but does that mean everyone should learn it? Should English be the global language? Should you have to know English to communicate if you are someone that lives in a place where the native language is something different? The answer is no. However, first you must consider the statement “It is a fact that English is the dominant language in the world today. Everyone, in every country, in order to participate in the modern world, should learn English. After all, a language is just a random collection of words, so how hard can it be”. Personally, I believe it is tremendously difficult to learn a new language as an adult, but in order to make the world go round, we all should know more than one language; no one language should rule. Barbara Wallraff, David Crystal, and John Tagliabue share a few words that connect to the statement to show their personal mindset behind English being a global language. In this essay, I will extract statements from each of the authors that explain their views on a global language to support my overall perception.
In this context, English language inherits the credential of a Universal language that can be nearly understood almost each and every part of the world. The English Language; that has been evolving over centuries, has found its spot under the beam light and is used all over the world as a mode of communication. However, just like any other spoken
The English language throughout many centuries, has been influenced by many foreigners and natives who have helped develop English, become the language and literature it is today. The language is currently being used by approximately 400 million people in world who use it as their primary language, and speak it fluently, and 700 million people using it as their second language and can have a simple conversation. With 50 english speaking countries in the world, different cultures use the english language differently to other countries and have unique variations they make to it, for example: Australia, who use rhyming slang in their everyday lives, America, who use English to portray there thoughts in raps and music, as well as the multiple
The growth and domination the English Language has seen globally is not only unprecedented, but comes as no surprise; "The spread of the English language and its culture over the world is a major event in human history"(Algeo, 2005, pp.6). As the Lingua Franca of the developing world and a third of the world’s population speaking English (Crystal, 2006), its importance, appeal and prestige cannot be undermined. Maybe it is because of its "richness and variety" (Gooden, 2001), inherited and adopted after colonialism (Algeo, 2005) or simple, a tool for international development (Erlin and Seargeant, 2013).
The English language is known for its vocabulary and creativity of words. Where in, the other languages have only one or two words which carry a particular meaning, English may have five or six for a particular word.
According to David Crystal, linguistics professor at the University of Wales, approximately 20 percent of the world can speak English. With English being the predominant language in the United States as well as many other parts of the world, it is undoubtedly one of the most significant languages in modern times. But have you ever wondered about the origins of the language you speak every day? Where did it come from? Did someone invent it? And why are some rules of the English language so weird? For example, why is geese the plural of goose? To get a better understanding of English, it is useful to learn about its long and complex history, and how the language the majority of us know and use today formed and evolved over time.
David Cookie argues that English is a ‘Trojan Horse’ which is intriguing from outside but there is a latent danger inside. He claims that English is the dominate language around the world in the contemporary society and he thinks that the spread of English is an appropriate, welcome, positive development for developed countries, but for developing or Third
In today’s global world, the importance of English can not be denied and ignored since English is the most common language spoken in most countries. With the help of developing technology, English has been playing a major role in many sectors including medicine, engineering, and education, which, in my opinion, is the most important arena where English is needed. English is the main language in fifty-three different countries and is spoken by about four hundred million people according to “So Here’s What’s Happening to English”. With the help of two essays “The New Technologies in the World” written by Dennis Baron and “So Here’s What’s Happening to English” written by Jack Rosenthal, you’ll soon then understand how English is changing right beneath your feet. Consequently, English should be the medium of instruction at universities and everyone should learn English in the United States for the following three reasons: finding a high-quality job, being able to communicate with others, and a more wide access to knowledge.
English is now what linguists call a “Lingua Franca” because of the tendency for people to use English as an international language (Danesi, 2016, p.122), as well as the fact that over 40 countries use English as their official
Scholars have named English the world’s “most influential language,” due to the number of speakers (360 million) and the number of countries in which it is spoken (Nicole Martello). The United States, contrary to popular belief, does not have an official language. The U.S. Constitution did not set English or any other language as its official language. However, the United States should set English as its official language because it would not affect first amendment rights, it unifies American citizens, and saves tax payer money.
In this essay, I will explain the historical and contemporary meaning of the English language becoming the world 's common language. I have chosen three texts, which are written by various scholars in the culture and linguistic realm, who have different insights and opinions of the dominance of the English language. I will integrate Ngugi Et Al’s work of, On The Abolition of the English Department in relation to linguist’s statistics of the elimination of a native tongue. There are many disadvantages to the world conforming to the English language, but I will also provide benefits of globalized language with reference to linguists who argue diversity of
“English is now the dominant or official language in over 60 countries and is represented in every continent” (Crystal, 1997:106). It can therefore be understood that the English language is a vital means of communication for millions of people around the world.