Controversy of Globish
THE CONTROVERSY OF GLOBISH AND ITS
IMPACT AS A POTENTIAL WORLD LANGUAGE
Meghan McCutcheon
Concordia University
Abstract This paper explains the current arguments surrounding the use of an impending world language. Four different sources are used throughout the paper as a means to better explain the notion of Jean-Paul Nerrière’s brainchild of ‘Globish’ as a front-runner for the use of a world language. These sources differ somewhat of their interpretation of ‘Globish’ and how it is changing the way that English is being spoken. McCrum (2011) and Hitchings (2011) both explore the idea of an impending world language and how ‘Globish’ will invariably change the way that native English speakers will speak English to non-native speakers. The examination of the controversies of ‘Globish’ and the realization of a world language are thoroughly reviewed in two online newspaper articles. Cameron (2010) assesses the history of English and its rise to prominence through globalization. Cohen (2006) establishes a case for the detrimental results that ‘Globish’ will have on the English language, as we know it today. This paper attempts to link the idea between a world language and ‘Globish’ together and what the possibilities of both mean for the future of English. Keywords: ‘Globish’, world language
The Controversy of ‘Globish’ and its
Impact as a Potential World Language As English continues to assert its dominance as a leading language used worldwide, it’s no wonder that the standards that its users hold it to will splinter and change over time. English has spread, primarily because of British colonialism, the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, American economic and political ascendancy, and further technological developments in the second half of the twentieth century (Hitchings, 2011). Languages do change; however, written languages, including English take an immense amount of time to
IMPACT AS A POTENTIAL WORLD LANGUAGE
Meghan McCutcheon
Concordia University
Abstract This paper explains the current arguments surrounding the use of an impending world language. Four different sources are used throughout the paper as a means to better explain the notion of Jean-Paul Nerrière’s brainchild of ‘Globish’ as a front-runner for the use of a world language. These sources differ somewhat of their interpretation of ‘Globish’ and how it is changing the way that English is being spoken. McCrum (2011) and Hitchings (2011) both explore the idea of an impending world language and how ‘Globish’ will invariably change the way that native English speakers will speak English to non-native speakers. The examination of the controversies of ‘Globish’ and the realization of a world language are thoroughly reviewed in two online newspaper articles. Cameron (2010) assesses the history of English and its rise to prominence through globalization. Cohen (2006) establishes a case for the detrimental results that ‘Globish’ will have on the English language, as we know it today. This paper attempts to link the idea between a world language and ‘Globish’ together and what the possibilities of both mean for the future of English. Keywords: ‘Globish’, world language
The Controversy of ‘Globish’ and its
Impact as a Potential World Language As English continues to assert its dominance as a leading language used worldwide, it’s no wonder that the standards that its users hold it to will splinter and change over time. English has spread, primarily because of British colonialism, the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, American economic and political ascendancy, and further technological developments in the second half of the twentieth century (Hitchings, 2011). Languages do change; however, written languages, including English take an immense amount of time to
References: Cameron, D. (2010, June 4). Globish: How the English Language Became the World’s Language. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jun/05/globish-robert-mccrum-review Cohen, N. (2006, August 6). So English is Taking Over the Globe. So What? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/weekinreview/06cohen.html Hitchings, H. (2011). The Language Wars: A History of Proper English. New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. McCrum, R. (2011). Globish: How English Became the World’s Language. New York City: W.W. Norton & Company.