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English as a Global LanguageThere seems to be no doubt that English has come to dominate as a global language. According to The Economist ?Over 380m people speak it as their first language and almost 300m as their second language. It is thought that a billion people around the world are learning it .... and by 2050, it is predicted that half the world will be more or less proficient in it.? Here, in france there is English all around me - from signs in airports and promotional copy on advertising posters to hearing presenters speaking it on French radio and television. The kids listen to and want to learn the lyrics of Lady Gaga, Coldplay, The Beatles and Michael Jackson. MTV is just one of the channels pumping music and videos in English, not just here in france, but throughout the entire world. It is cool to talk about what you are doing at ?le weekend? or if you are going ?shopping?. English has become the language of international politics, navigation, air traffic control, business, music, computers and internet. So by force of necessity, the kids in france must learn some English to understand new technology. In countries such as china, Japan, Indonesia, vietnam and India, this is taken further as parents want their children to learn English because they see it as a real chance and opportunity for upward mobility. But why has this happened? Traditionally a language has dominated because of the power of its people and research shows that in particular it depends on the military, political and economical power of that country. The military powerful nation may be able to establish and insist on the use of a language, as england did in Britain?s colonies, but it also takes an economically powerful country to maintain and develop it. At the beginning of the 19th Century Britain had become the world?s leading industrial and trading country, but this strength was overtaken during the 20th Century when America became the world?s first superpower. Industries began working on a global scale and were supported by new communication technologies such as radio, newspapers, television, computers and internet. English was the common language, therefore there was an explosion of international marketing and advertising in English. And as America became ever more powerful, it also fuelled new mass entertainment industries in movies, television and music in English which had a worldwide impact - and still does. It has to be said, that the positive side of English as a global language is that it enables people from different countries to converse and do business together. The negative side is that this dominance of English can completely engulf the local country and squeeze out the unique elements and local languages that each culture offers. And even the English language is itself increasingly finding that it is under threat from the dominance of American culture. Into the dictionary comes ?nerd?, ?crib?, ?sick (good)?, ?downloading?, ?browser?, ?texting? and so on, taking the place of the more traditional words of the English language. But it is perhaps this ability for English to take on new words from around the world that makes it open to all and continue to move with the times. I?m not sure if English as a global language is a good thing. It seems our European friends are now all speaking several languages and multilingualism is becoming the norm in countries such as holland, germany and Scandinavia. Conversely however, it seems that the native English-speakers are becoming less competent at other languages, languishing in the belief that everyone else can speak English. The result of this belief, is that it often isolates native English-speakers from the culture of others and makes integration more difficult. The most common gripe here in france, is that the English who live here often make no effort to learn French - even in the simplest form - and would rather stand in a shop and speak English increasingly loudly in the vain hope that someone will eventually understand them. But ultimately, English as the future single global language may not be an answer everyone can agree to, but it has to be better than Esperanto.
