Preview

English Is the Natural Choice for a World Language. to What Extend Do You Agree with This Statement?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1099 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
English Is the Natural Choice for a World Language. to What Extend Do You Agree with This Statement?
Topic: English is the natural choice for a world language. To what extend do you agree with this statement?
In recent years, it is widely acknowledge that English has become the universal language occupying prominent position in the world. However, a debate has arisen over whether English is the natural choice for global language and continues to remain its permanent position. Although it might claim that there are some other languages have potential to replace English as a world language, English language has inarguably achieved the global status ‘world language’ and will retain its monopolistic position and continues to be the natural choice for the global language. This essay will first examines the reason why English has been regarded as world language recent decades and secondly, will discuss another choice for a global language and thirdly, will illustrate some other factors attribute to determining the world language and finally, will assess the extent to English language is a natural choice for a world language.
It is clear that English language has been widely accepted as the world language because of its large number of speakers in the world. It is obvious that there are significant number of people speaking English as a first language, which has 328 million native speakers (The Ethnologue, 2009).Those can be seen in 112 countries, such as UK, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Furthermore,according to statistics in The Ethnologue(2009), there are approximately 500 million people speaking English as a foreign language. It may because English has been made the official language in 55 countries and 25 territories and even been used in certain international institutions such as The United Nations and IBRD.it may also because of one country’s foreign-language teaching policy that English always have the priority to be taught in schools. In addition, English has been regarded as the main foreign language in over 100 countries where children have to



References: Behera,A. K. and Panda, S.(2012)."Global Languag: English?". Internagtional Journal of English and Education,Vol.7,Issue:1 July p44. Crystal, D. (2000). English as a global language. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Graddol, D. and English (1997). The future of English? : a guide to forecasting the popularity of English in the 21st century. London, British Council. Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/. Pride, J. B. (1982). New Englishes. Rowley, Mass., Newbury House Publishers. Quirk, R. and D. Crystal (1985). A Comprehensive grammar of the English language. London, Longman. Seargeant, P. and J. Swann (2012). English in the world : History, diversity, change. London, Routledge.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Apush Chapter 33

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The importance of English as a global language is evident in the emergence of an international literature in English.…

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No one denies the importance of the English language in the present time as a global language. It is clear that the English language has become very dominant around the world. This is one reason among many other reasons why I would like to do Year 11 Extension English in my senior years. English has become an important part of my life as I use it every day through many mediums, for example socialising or communicating. The advantage of learning the universal language of English has offered me those opportunities and many more. This is because English is the language of the modern era, where many people use it in various fields of life such as political, business or travel.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A well-known musician once said, “ Realistically, English is a universal language; it’s the number one language…for communicating with the rest of the world.” English is the most widely used language in the history of the world. In 2015, there were sixty-seven sovereign states and twenty-seven non-sovereign entities where English was an official language. Additionally, many country’s subdivisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level. Despite being the most widely used language in the world, English varies from country to country, and even from region to region! Each variety of English has its own set of rules and guidelines, as a result, a universal standard had to be proposed (The History of English: Origins…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Learn a Second Language

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Manzo, Kathleen Kennedy, and Mary Ann Zehr. “English Now the Foreign Language of Schools Abroad” Education Week 12 Apr. 2006, Vol. 25, Iss. 31, pg.1-4…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nowadays, all people say that English is the most essential and easiest language that people could use to communicate in different countries. As I read thoroughly the two articles, which are called “ English seen as a Co-star among Global Language” and “Can English be Dethroned”, I’ve found out that people more commonly accept using English as a second language in the 21st century. We all understand the fact that English has been growing in popularity largely as economic globalization is getting bigger. The benefits of English as a common language for communication and interaction far outweigh any possible disadvantages that it might have. English is a global language not because the world shows respect to it by accepting it as a global language because it has the characteristics of a global language.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Controversy of Globish

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages

    McCrum, R. (2011). Globish: How English Became the World’s Language. New York City: W.W. Norton & Company.…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Kachru, B., Kachru, Y. & Nelson, C. L. ( 2009) The Handbook of World Englishes. 1st edn, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell.…

    • 1861 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    [ 4 ]. Ostler, N. (2010). The last Lingua Franca: English until the return of Babel. New York: Walker and Company publishers.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    English, which is spoken by 1.9 billon of the world’s population as their first language (Redman, 2004), has been spreading rapidly in the world since the British Industrial Revolution and colonialism in many continents such as Asia, Africa and North America during the 18th century (Lavot, 2000). As the influence of English is increasing, some linguists think that it is a natural process of successful international communication. However, many other languages are also dying out at an accelerating rate because of the expansion of the English language. In discussing the issue of the growing influence of English; arguments, both for and against, should be considered, particularly, in the economic, the information exchange, the linguistic aspects and the aspect of alteration, unity and differentiation.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Globalization of English

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The term ‘the globalization of English’ can be interpreted in at least three ways. It can refer to the increasing intrusion of the English language into the lives of town and city dwellers all over the world. This is a worrying phenomenon. Not only does it threaten to contaminate or wipe out local languages and cultures, but it also skews the socio-economic order in favour of those who are proficient in English. How should the non English-speaking world react?…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bibliography: J. A. Foley, T. Kandiah, Bao Zhiming, A. F. Gupta, L. Alsagoff, Ho Chee Lick, L. Wee, I. S. Talib, W. Bokhorst-Heng, English In New Cultural Contexts (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) 115-204.…

    • 1610 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Platt, John, Heidi Weber and Ho Mian Lian. The New Englishes. London, Boston, Melbourne and Henley: Routledge and Kegan Paul plc, 1984.…

    • 3090 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    English Next

    • 39184 Words
    • 157 Pages

    The growth of the use of English as the world’s primary language for international communication has obviously been continuing for several decades. But even as the number of English speakers expands further there are signs that the global predominance of the language may fade within the foreseeable future. Complex international, economic, technological and cultural changes could start to diminish the leading position of English as the language of the world market, and UK interests which enjoy advantage from the breadth of English usage would consequently face new pressures. Those realistic possibilities are highlighted in the study presented by David Graddol. His analysis should therefore end any complacency among those who may believe that the global position of English is so unassailable that the young generations of the United Kingdom do not need additional language capabilities.…

    • 39184 Words
    • 157 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The English language is widely acknowledged to be the language of modern times; it is an international language for communication and education. English, according to the Time Almanac (2010), is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is spoken by approximately 1000 million people, which constitute almost 16 percent of the world‟s population. The vibrant use of English in all nooks and corners of the non-English speaking world has outnumbered native speakers by non-native users, involving 80% use of English between L2 speakers. (Deterding, 2006; Sarwar, 2001; Benecke, 1991; Crystal, 2000; 2003). It is so widely spoken that besides the internal varieties of English (varieties spoken within English speaking countries), the non-native English speaking part of the…

    • 3790 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    English Langu

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages

    English is a Germanic language that was introduced in England and is now one of the most globally tool of communication around the world. However the question is; is English the dominant language? Today, English is the most common foreign language taught, revealing that it’s widely spreading among the majority of countries. The Linguist Braj Kachru created the design of three concentric circles of English which defined the acknowledgement and significance of the language. The “inner circle” represented the countries that master the English language as their first language, for instance, United States, United Kingdom, Canada and more. The second “outer circle” refers to the earlier stages of English taking part in institutions, like Singapore, and Malawi. The third “expanding circle” is based on the countries that recognize the existence of English as a language and is sometimes that relevant to be taught. With that being said, it’s the “world language” or sometimes described as the modern lingua franca. English had its influential factors starting with British colonization, technological advancement, and popular culture or economic factors. The short story “By Any Other Name”, the article “How the Internet Has Shaped the English Language” and the article from the New York Times “Across Cultures, English is the word” discusses the importance of English and how it has been viral.…

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays