English as a Global Language - Research Paper Example

A Critical Analysis of the Future of English as a Global Language Introduction English has got the status of the global language not only because of the large number of people who speak in it but also because of the innumerous books written on a wide of subjects and branches of knowledge in English. In her book “The First World: The Search for the Origins of Language”, Christine Kenneally reports that “there are about 6,000 languages in the world, and half of the world's population speaks only 10 of them. English is the single most dominant of these 10.” (67) Though the British Colonialism played a significant role in proliferating English over much of the known world, English has further strengthened its dominant position in the world because of being the scholars’ first choice. Besides, English being the language of the world’s superpowers’ mother tongue, has been the first and foremost condition of communication in international politics as well as among the governments of the world. International political power and the status of English are interrelated with each other. In this regard Kenneally comments “British colonialism initiated the spread of English across the globe; it has been spoken nearly everywhere and has become even more prevalent since World War II, with the global reach of American power” (67). Indeed the present status of English has its root in the history of the English-speaking people’s domination over the world during the colonial rule. Now this dominant status has further been reinforced among common people of almost all the countries of the world by its status as a medium to earn knowledge, to get a good job, and overall as a medium that can help a man to live in a better living standard. Historical Background of English as a Global Language Industrial Revolution was one, but not the only, reason that provided the foundation of English as a global language. During the second half of the 18th century, Industrial Revolution, both directly and indirectly, contributed to the rise of English. Being backed by the knowledge of science and the inventions of new technology, innumerous industries, mills and factories started to bloom all over Europe as well as in England. Consequently the local resources ran short to feed these industries. Also due to the expansion of trade and commerce, the British as well as the European countries needed to find new resources as well as new markets for the products. During the same period, technology based transport system contribute to the mobility of goods and people. Consequently the industry-based economy in industrialized Europe functioned as incentives to conquer the weaker nations and to capture their resources. The tendency of the industrialized countries behind capturing the overseas resources was to be the direct owner rather than paying for what they needed for their industries. It is widely accepted that Britain and France were the two colonial powers that initiated the imperial expansion and captures of the weaker countries by force. Elaborating the British interests in the imperialist expansion, Gareth Austin says, “Industrial-Revolution technology enabled British firms not only to take over the overseas markets….to make great inroads into the domestic markets of handicraft industries in Asia and Africa” (5). The technology-blessed military power also inspired to go into warfare with the weaker nations and subjugate them. Another factor that contributed to turn the colonial authorities into imperial power was the competition among the countries for strengthening hold on the world economy and market. One of the prerequisites to win the competition was prolong their rule through systematic and effective control. In this colonial competition, the British were final victor who won over the French and other European colonial nations to start the journey of English as a global language. Present Scenario of the Use of English as a Global language Indeed, the use of “English as a common means of communication across culture” is increasing day by day. The term, “English as a global language” or “Global English” essential explores the plausibility of English a common means of communication. Theoretically ‘global English’ differs from ‘world English’ and ‘lingua franka’. Whereas ‘world English’ deals with various forms of English which have undergone changes from place to place, country to country, etc. On the other hand, ‘global English’ needs a standard form to be followed commonly by people of all cultures. Global English is the standard form of English to be read and written by people for communication purpose either as their native language or second language or foreign language. David Graddol provides a brief statistics of the people of the world uses English for communication. He reports that about three hundred and seventy five millions people speak in English as their first language, whereas three hundred and seventy million people use English as their second language. Moreover seven hundred and fifty million people use English as their foreign language. (Graddol 45-47) Even English is ranking the highest position in the education systems of the countries of the world. In this regard David Crystal comments as following: English is now the language most widely taught as a foreign language--in over 100 countries, such as China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Egypt, and Brazil--and in most of these countries it is emerging as the chief foreign language to be encountered in schools, often displacing another language in the process. (Crystal 34) Moreover, in terms of the number of countries that uses English as their official language, English ranks the highest position. Penny Silva notes that English enjoys the official status in more than 75 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, the Common wealth countries, Gambia, Ghana, Uganda, Namibia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Guyana and others, as she says, “In all, English has official or special status in at least 75 countries (with a combined population of two billion people). It is estimated that one out of four people worldwide speak English with some degree of competence.” (Silva 67) Role of Global Power Politics and Economy in Making English a Global Language Indeed the status of English as a global language is closely related to world economy and power politics. The major power-mongers in international politics are also the dominant role-players in global economy. This power-economy factor began to play its role in making English a global language from the beginning of industrial revolution in Britain in the early 1700s. The British outweighed other European colonial powers in the colonial competition and thus English as the language of the British Victors began its journey by helping her speakers in the fields of politics and economy. It is quite normal that the populations of the conquered nations would learn English on their own (or being forced) to communicate their conquerors. Due to the vast expanse of the British Empire, English began to play a dominant role in global economy. When the British Empire began to wane, the world’s political power was shifted to another English speaking country, the United States. With the ascendance of the US to the world’s power, English made its position stronger than ever. Along with the political power, the United States’ dominance in global economy, English became the powerful means of communication. In an article, Melvia A Hasman comments on the relationship of English with global economy as following: “Why discuss economics with the English language…because the English language is closely associated with this economic modernization and industrial development.” (3) How English helps getting jobs Local economy as well as the global economy largely depends on global English. From the labels of a product to the production knowledge and from the factory-worker to the highest management level official most companies and workplaces require a good command of English. As a result, knowledge in English has turned into one of the prerequisites of getting a job for the jobseekers. Necessarily it becomes the determiner of living standard. In a globalized environment, the businesses also increasingly need to compete in a global environment. According to Hasman, “Two factors drive this global marketplace.” (3) First, often most of the locally manufactured products needs elements or components that are imported from a foreign country. Second, more than half of “all imports and exports, which governments label foreign trade, are transacted between domestic companies and their foreign affiliates.” (Hasman 3) As a result, these businesses need to depend on as the primary means of communication. In this regard, Hasman says, The increasing globalization of the marketplace is forcing companies to pay more attention to international developments. Domestic firms are adjusting their structures and methods of operation to fit a broader and rapidly changing economic environment. (Hasman 3) Even in the developing countries, speaking in English with families and friends, giving orders to waiters and servant, etc have become the indicators of high social status, as Henry Miller notes, “The key role of English is to get a good white-collar job, and to raise your social status. Hindi and other languages are for films, family, friends, and, if you are rich and Anglophone, to give orders to your servants” (Leddy 98). Dilemma of English as a Global Language The dilemma of English as a Global language is that the more it will be global the more it will be a subject to change. The widespread use of English by people of different cultures and language tends to threat the global uniformity of English. A continual interaction with people of other languages will force English to loan foreign words and even some lexical structures also. Referring to the amalgamation of words from different languages, John McWhorter comments, “We are speaking a bastard and beaten tongue with a very unusual grammatical history.” (45) According to Crystal, “English has borrowed words from over 350 other languages, and over three-quarters of the English lexicon is actually Classical or Romance in origin.” (76) Through an interaction with other languages, it is possible that a huge number of local verities will emerge. Graddol notes that the main two functions of English as a global language are contradictory. Its role as a convenient means of communication requires adherence to conventional standards of the language, whereas its role as the constructor of cultural identities “encourages the development of local forms and hybrid varieties.” (Graddol 23) Yet there is hope. Since the use of English in official arenas is increasing, one can hope that such official usage with keep the uniformity of English intact. Graddol expresses this hope: “As English plays an ever more important role in the first of these functions, it simultaneously finds itself acting as a language of identity for larger numbers of people around the world.” (23) Creoles and pidgins are the evidences of such local varieties of English. An overall analysis of the development of a Pidgin and therefore, a Creole in any region is bound to reveal the fact that the cross-cultural interaction between two languages communities has played the role of a precondition in preparing the plot for the incarnation of a Creole. In such cases, the power balance was such that both of the language communities were forced to cope with each other in some way or other. The nature of these interactions between to language communities was such that most of these interactions occurred on the mass level. Consequently, Pidgin happened to emerge as the lingua franca of these language communities. Conclusion English as a global language started its journey through the introduction of colonialism. The political and economic power of its speakers helped it to achieve this prestigious status and superiority over other languages. Users of English will outweigh any of the native language users of the world. At present, governments, institutions, and organizations use English to cope with the global environment. As a result, people of all cultures learn English on their own to get a good job and to get better living standards. Also a good command of English will allow one to access the vast resource of knowledge, since most of the books in almost every branch of knowledge are written in English. Moreover, continually books of other languages are also being translated into English. But the dilemma of English as a global language is that the widespread use of English tends to threat its uniformity and standards, since extensive interactions of English with other languages and cultures necessarily create a wide of varieties of English. Yet the hope is that since English is a means of communication among global communities, a uniform standard of English must exist. Works Cited Austin, Gareth. “Economic Imperialism”, 21 November 2010. Available at Crystal, David. English as a Global Language, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, 2003 Graddol, David. “English in the Future," Analysing English in a Global Context, ed. by A. Burns, Routledge, 2001 Graddol, David. The Future of English? A Guide to Forecasting the Popularity of the English Language in the 21st Century. British Council, 1997 Hasman, Melvia A. “The Role of English in the 21st Century.” Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Volume 39, Number 1, n.d. web. 23 November 2012. Kenneally, Christine. The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language. Viking, 2007 Leddy, Chuck. “Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity.” The Christian Science Monitor, July 20, 2010 McWhorter, John. “Notes on English as a Global Language.” The New York Times, June 14, 2009. Silva, Penny. "Global English," AskOxford.com, 2009 Read More