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english as a Global LanguageA global language is referred to as a lingua franca which means, ?a common language that enables people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities to communicate on a more or less equitable basis? (www.thehistoryofenglish.com/issues_global.html). There are three main factors that indicate a language as a lingua franca. The first factor is the number of countries which speak the language as their native tongue. The second factor is how many countries have adopted the language as their official language, and the third is how many countries use the language as their second or foreign language of choice (www.thehistoryofenglish.com/issues_global.html). How a lingua franca is determined relies heavily on the language used by the people in power of the dominant political and economic institutions. This is why english is the front runner for being the lingua franca of the modern world. According to the History of english website 85% of international organizations, such as the UN, World Bank, World Health Organization, and European Union, use english as their official language. They go on to state that one third of these international organizations and 90% of Asian international organizations use english as their only language. Even though english is not recognized as the official global language, it is the most used and taught language of the world, and is closer to being a lingua franca than any other language in history, according to Wikipedia. But how did english become so wide spread? While english has been around for hundreds of years, some believe that it was British Imperialism and colonialism that spread it around the world. However, it was American influence that kept it there. The fields of music, film, television, business and finance, information technology, tourism, science and academic resource are dominated by the english language because of the superior role the united states has played in developing these fields. Even though english is the most dominant language in the world, several argue that a global language is not necessary and can even be harmful. According to Jacques Mélitz from the Center for Economic Policy Research, english as a global language would be beneficial for economic and scientific purposes, however it would be detrimental to literature because ?world literature will be an english literature...and will be the poorer for it ? as if all music were written only for the cello? (http://www.cepr.org/press/DP2055PR.htm). Mélitz argues that literature would loses its beauty and individuality if it abandoned the author's native tongue. While Mélitz argues for the loss of arts, others argue for the loss of cultural diversity. It is feared that a global language would cause other less popular languages to become obsolete and die out. This would therefore cause those who spoke those lost languages to lose a good part of their diversity and traditions. While this is a fear that concerns a lingua franca, others have fears specifically targeted to the english language, and that is of those enslaved by colonialism. Because of British and American imperialism, countries around the world despise the english language because it was forced upon them and interfered with their freedom. Therefore, they reject english as their official language. Even though english has a strong hold as the dominant global language, lingua francas are determined by those in political and economic power, and could therefore lose its place to another language. The most relevant example is that of China and the united states. Some fear that the united states will lose is position as the super power to China, and as a result, Mandarin will become the new global language. Whether english will ever be chosen as the official global language is unknown, but its importance to compete in the modern political and economic market, is yet to be matched. Bibliography (http://www.cepr.org/press/DP2055PR.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language http://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/issues_global.html
