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The Good, the Bad and english as a Global LanugageEnglish is becoming the language of the world. The rate of english spoken around the world is larger than it has ever been, and is only continuing to grow. english as a global language will have both negative and positive effects on the world. english as a first language is spoken by around 309- 400 million people, the total speakers including second language speakers is 1.4 billion according to Wikipedia. "Researcher David Graddol says two billion people will be learning english as it becomes a truly "world language"(Coughlan). This is roughly 1/3 of the worlds total population. A remarkably striking number that is only growing. Wikipedia states english as the first language of the European Union. english as a global language seems to be the most popular and the one that people are learning in countries around the world the most as a second language. In some countries it is even part of a school curriculums: "Language learning numbers will decline as english becomes a 'basic skill' - learnt by primary-age children, rather than something that older children or adults might want to acquire later"(Coughlan). english becoming a requirement of Engilsh language, is acknowledgement that different countries around the world are recognizing it as a basic in primary education. "The research has looked at the global population of young people in education - including 120 million children in chinese primary schools - and how many countries are embedding english-language learning within their school systems."(Coughlan) However this could have both positive and negative side effects as people in other countries learn english as their second language, it means there are less and less monolingual speakers in the world, and more multi-lingual speakers. english native speakers are failing to learn other languages as the feeling that it becomes less and less relevant or necessary to acquire a second language. This is something that could lead the english population to be perceived as arrogant, and as well as undereducated as multilingualism rises. Whereas other countries are becoming more educated in other languages and evolving into multi-linguists. Multilinguism is important because the globe is at risk of losing the diversity of languages that exist in the world, therefore the more people learn different languages, and use them the longer they can be preserved. MSNBC reported that: ?The world?s language system, having evolved over centuries, has reached a point of crisis and is rapidly restructuring, Graddol says. In this process as many as 90 percent of the 6,000 or so languages spoken around the world may be doomed to extinction, he estimated."(Asscoiated Press) As the globalization of culture grows, so does the globalization of language, I hope that this does not mean the end of of differential cultures and languages. As an english Canadian who has travelled around the globe I was astonished to come across the amount of different people in different countries who spoke english. These are people who want to use their english so you can buy something from them, people that want to use your english to help you because you are in a foreign place, and there are those that want to use you to practice there english. There also those that are trying to show off what little english they do know, by shouting I love you, from buildings at you when you are walking down the streets. The prominence of english around the world can no longer be denied as a global language. In most countries in the world you can see english programming with the native language spoken of that country at the bottom of the screen in subtitles. Whether this is a good or bad thing, I believe it is a two sided coin, as the world becomes a playground for people to explore and discover with a greater ability to communicate thanks to the widespread use of english language, the world risks losing its cultural diversity and diversity of language. I believe in the rise of english as a second languages is wonderful because it allows roads of communication to be possible with all different kinds of people. I think its it just important to respect other languages, and begin to take measures to preserve them. Work Cited 1. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. english language. Wikipedia, 10 July 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language.10 July 2011. 2. Coughlan, Sean. "english 'world language' forecast." BBC World News Online, 9 Dec. 2004. "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4080401.stm. July 10 2010. 3. Coughlan, Sean. "english 'world language' forecast." BBC World News Online, 9 Dec. 2004. "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4080401.stm. July 10 2010. 4. The Associated Press. "english won't dominate as world language." Msnbc Online, 26 FEb. 2004. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4387421/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/english-wont-dominate-world-language/. July 10 2010. 5. Coughlan, Sean. "english 'world language' forecast." BBC World News Online, 9 Dec. 2004. "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4080401.stm. July 10 2010.
