Rhetorical analysis - Essay Example

The article is aimed at discussing the English as the dominate global language and, also acts as a rebuttal to retrospective arguments claiming that that position should be held by languages spoken by many people such as Mandarin. The writers commence the article with the aforementioned though inducing question, and promise in the thesis statement to explain what a global language is and how English became one. This introduction serves to prepare the reader for the ideas of the writer and creates an impression of a well thought out and organized article.

The first post thesis paragraph examines and dispels popular preconception about a global language, alluding to Crystal’s book “English as a second language” wherein he posits that a language does not gain global pertinence based on the scope of words or intrinsic structure, or cultural and literal affiliations. The writers also cites Goh and Liam (Globalization of Language and culture in Asia) who found that the number of native speakers is not a determining feature since had this been the case Mandarin and Hindi would be considered global languages.

The writer thus builds up their argument by eliminating these perceptions and creates suspense as they finally reveal what criterion determines this. They argue the status of the speakers is the main feature in giving a language global relevance; this is backed up by international recognition of the language and the number of second language speakers in the world. “The status of the native speakers that play a big role in raising the status of their language” (LCOM) It is notable that the writers of this article have alluded to two academic writers of repute and this way they create credibility for their work by presenting their perspectives.

Furthermore, simply by virtue of the fact that they have cited and acknowledged makes it evident to anyone who may have interacted with the prior works that the bloggers have academic integrity by giving credit where it is due. Using these arguments, the writers are able to frame a logical viewpoint as to why English is a global language, take the first position on the status of the people. If one pursues Historical considerations and employs logical thinking, these arguments are largely proved sound.

Most African countries speaking English were colonized by the British, and the status of the British as colonial masters necessitated that more natives learn and use English than the English to learn and use the local languages. Even English at some point in history was relegated to obscurity by Latin and French when the two were in their own times used by the Romans and Normans respectively in admiration, legal and religious fields by the conquerors. However, when the English speakers took over power and inevitably status, it naturally followed that the rest of the world would toe the linguistic line.

The same case applied to India and Hong Kong where English is widely used despite being a second language. The claim about international recognition is also one that is easily validated logically, the more people recognize a language internationally, and the more likely they are to learn it as a second language. This further clarifies the position the English language since; it is the language, which many speakers speak as a second language. In fact, the number of those who speak English language are only found in a few countries North America,