English: The international language - Essay Example

In examining how English has truly become the international language it’s necessary to see how it spread from the shores of the United Kingdom to its contemporary incarnations in as diverse regions as Seoul, South Korea, South Dakota, and even Rwanda. Most researchers have linked the rise of English as an international language to the spread of British colonialism throughout the last few centuries (Bragg 2004). While English began with the United Kingdom of Great Britain, as this country expanded its empire, English subsequently spread with it to regions such as India, Saint Helena, Australia, Singapore, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United States, and Vanuatu, Bermuda, Falkland Islands, Hong Kong.

The more contemporary spread of English has been linked to the prominence of the United States. This occurred largely since World War II, as the United States gradually assumed globalized political, cultural, and economic dominance. With the advent of the United States and their subsequent territorial acquisition, English spread to other areas such as Puerto Rico, Philippines, Northern Marianas, Guam, and the Virgin Islands (Bragg 2004). While the United Kingdom of Great Britain functioned to establish English among its colonial entities, ultimately the spread of English as the international language is a direct result of the cultural exportations and developments of the United States throughout the 20th century.

A testament to the prominence of English as the international language can be seen by examining its use within modern day business participants. Contemporary census research suggests that as many as 377 million people currently speak English, with the largest uses found in the United States and the United Kingdom (Coury 2001). Because of the wide-spread use of English exact figures