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English as a Global Language At one time, English was once only spoken in small parts of Europe. Today however, English has, and continues to be the dominate language around the world. In fields such as science, it brings a common language, which increases efficiency (CEPR, 2011). As the demand for English grows, more countries are now requiring English to be taught in schools. For example, norway typically begins teaching English to children as young as six years of age or during the first year of school. The reason English has become the world dominate language likely has much to do with the days of the British Empire, where colonies existed in North America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Because of this, many countries within these continents now have adapted English as a first or second language. English has had one of the largest impacts in the united states. The United States is one of the largest English-speaking countries in the world. As a result of America's entertainment industry alone, English has been introduced to many countries for many years through television, cinema, and music. This in itself, has contributed to the worldwide demand of the English language. One could argue that in countries such as china where more native speakers exist over any other country, thus, why not use chinese and a global language? However, the chinese language is grammatically more simple; lacking articles, prepositions, verb conjunctions and tenses. In addition, the language limits the speaker's tone for emotional expressions. Finally, Westerners have more difficulty understanding the writing system, whereas, the chinese and other Asian countries tend to learn the phonetic Roman alphabet more easily (Claerr, 2007). It makes the world more global with a common language. When looking at all the countries in Europe, many possessing their own language, it would be difficult for Norwegians to travel to spain or Germans or travel to france. Whether it is for business purposes or for a leisure holiday in another county, English is the common language that is used. The same argument can be said about the various countries in Asia, also having many of their own languages. Someone from china may have an easier time in Japan speaking English rather than their native tongue. For business purposes, English is especially important. In particular, the airline industry. Airline companies travel all over the world. For polices as well as for safety procedures, English is the common language, although the native languages will still be used. technologies such as gaming and the Internet have also adapted English as the common language. Typically, video game software will have English as its default language. So not only for the wide geographic range of English-speaking countries, there are countless reasons for the use of the English language whether it is for traveling, business, technology, or any other reason. As society continues to become more global and technologically advanced, English will continue to become the global language. English is the language for global communication and the language for international success. Sources Centre for Economic Policy Research (2011). English as the Global Language: Good for Business, Bad for Literature http://www.cepr.org/press/DP2055PR.htm Claerr, Jennifer (2007). How English Became a Global Language http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/271148/how_english_became_a_global_language.html?cat=37
