Final Essay Vuws

ENGLISH AS A LANGUAGE OF POWER
English is the only global language and others cannot compete with it, meaning many languages would die out as a result. Is this global hegemony a good or bad thing? This question may be a very common and forthright one however it is something that hasn’t been bare boned. To be able to answer the question we must first dig into the background of English and its usage, then moving onto the positives and negatives of this global hegemony before jumping onto a conclusion of saying whether this hegemony is a good or bad thing and whether it is a good or bad thing if other languages die out. “Perhaps a global language will…make all other languages unnecessary. ‘A person needs only one language to talk to someone else’, it is sometimes argued, ‘and once a world language is in place, other languages will simply die away’” (Crystal, 2003). This quotation would form the base of the essay as well the one following, “An indication of English’s international status is the fact that most, if not all, nations around the world have official government policies dealing with the status of English as a domestic issue…English is either perceived as a threat, for example, to a nation’s language(s) or cultural identity, or it is considered to be an asset, economically for instance” (Hale & Basides, 2013).
English had started to be known as a lingua franca around the period of World War II. After reading the English Effect report by the British council written by Howson (2013) it can be estimated that approximately 1.75 billion people use English worldwide, in other words, approximately one in four people speak English at a “useful level”. The main people who are learning and speaking English are “the economically active, the thought leaders, the business decision-makers, the young, the movers and shakers present and future” (Howson, 2013). There are more non-native speakers of English than there are native speakers therefore it can be said that English is and belongs to the world instead of to one country. English is classified as the utmost prime language because of the economic and political sovereignty of the United States and United Kingdom. Also because the countries in which English is mainly spoken, export culture and characteristics of language worldwide, English is considered a global language. "English has two main functions in the world: it provides a vehicular language for international communication and it forms the basis for constructing cultural identities…it finds itself acting as a language of identity for larger numbers of people around the world" (Graddol, 2001). A global language means and leads to efficient global relationships.
English being a global language and a lingua franca has many positive aspects. Firstly English is one of the easiest languages to learn and therefore is easy for people worldwide to learn, study and speak it, giving them a direct access to one of the “world’s richest culture of the present time” (Frath, 2005). English drives international growth and development thus promoting globalisation and making the world a smaller place. For the economies that are still developing or emerging, there is a high demand for learning English as it would boost stability and affluence. English has also become the global language for commerce, science, technology and tourism. English is also the central language for the internet, which is the core global communication channel used all over the world. Due to the internet, social media has also been given a head start with speed and spread of global communications which leads to a globalised and interdependent global economy. English allows the spread of ideas and innovations worldwide. English is now the first source for neology in most languages and since the world actually needs a lingua franca, English is most likely the prime choice. English is said to change lives of people as it proves for them as a language of opportunity. Francisco Rodriguez-Weil, a set and costume designer from Venezuela says: “If I have to summarise the meaning of the English language in one word then it has to be freedom. Freedom to relate to others, explore new cultures, freedom of information, to do what I want to do for a living and live in a place I love … English has opened my horizons in every sense of the words and I owe who I am today to the ability to speak the language.” (Howson, 2013) This statement put forward by Ms Rodriguez-Weil shows how English has been beneficial and an opening door to success and freedom for some people.
On the other hand however, although English being a lingua franca and global language has much positivity in it, it also has many negatives. The most pessimism is the domination over culture. Despite English speaking cultures being remarkable and expedient, it is posing a threat to and taking over local languages which have been passed on by the ancestors from generation to generation and thus the words of local languages are dying out. This may lead to a loss of culture and therefore the world may need an alternative perception. Because other languages are unable to compete with English, they are dying out and in countries where education is not taught in the local language but another, most likely English, the educated people are incapable of communicating and conveying their viewpoints and opinions in their mother tongues. When this happenes the local language can be seen on its deathbed. There is a restriction placed forward on the local or mother language because the vehicular language is the desired language for employment and education, the vehicular language becomes a substitute for the local language. English-language appendices and resources barely ever mention or acknowledge other languages, however, authors who usually write in local languages still write in English to be able to be given a chance to be published (Frath, 2005). ‘The next century will see more than half of the world’s 6,000 languages become extinct, and most of these will disappear without being adequately recorded’ (Evans, 2009). This shows the extent in which other languages may become extinct because English is dominating over language over the world.
Despite English being a global Language and a lingua franca having many positive aspects, it also has many negative aspects. The main negative aspect is the fact that because other languages cannot compete with English, it would result in many languages dying out. Languages dying out can be seen as a bad thing as it may place some people into a loss of culture as something (language) unique which has been passed on from generation to generation would be lost and extinct forever, especially if it is a language which has not been chronicled.

Resource List
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a Global Language (2nd Edn.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Evans, N. (2009). Dying Words: Endangered languages and what they have to tell us. Maldon & Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
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Hale, A. & Basides, H. (2013). The Keys to Academic English. South Yarra, Victoria: Palgrave
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