Global Landuage
Global language
Do you know any global languages? English is a global language, isn’t it? These are the kinds of questions that seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Of course English is a global language, they would say. You hear it on television, it is spoken by politicians from all over the world. Wherever you travel, you see English signs and Advertisements. Whenever you enter a hotel or restaurant in a foreign city, they will also understand English. Indeed, if there is anything to wonder about at all, they might add, that is why such headlines should still be news worthy. But English is news. The language continues to make news daily in many countries. And the headline itself isn’t stating the obvious. But what does it mean, exactly? Is it saying that everyone in the world speaks English? This is admittedly not true, as we shall see. Is it saying, then, that every country in the world recognizes English as an official language? This is not true either. So what does it mean to say that a language is a global language? Why English is the language which is usually placed in this connection? Or is it the case that, once a language becomes a global language, it is there forever? These are fascinating questions to explore, whether your first language is English or not. If English is your mother tongue, you may have mixed feelings about the way English is spreading around the world. You may feel pride, that your language is the one which has been so successful; but your pride may be tinged with concern, when you realize that people in other countries may not want to use the language in the same way that you do, and are changing it to suit themselves. We are all sensitive to the way other people use the language. Deeply held feelings of ownership begin to be questioned. Indeed, if there is one predictable consequence of a language becoming a global one, it is that no one owns it any more. This
Do you know any global languages? English is a global language, isn’t it? These are the kinds of questions that seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Of course English is a global language, they would say. You hear it on television, it is spoken by politicians from all over the world. Wherever you travel, you see English signs and Advertisements. Whenever you enter a hotel or restaurant in a foreign city, they will also understand English. Indeed, if there is anything to wonder about at all, they might add, that is why such headlines should still be news worthy. But English is news. The language continues to make news daily in many countries. And the headline itself isn’t stating the obvious. But what does it mean, exactly? Is it saying that everyone in the world speaks English? This is admittedly not true, as we shall see. Is it saying, then, that every country in the world recognizes English as an official language? This is not true either. So what does it mean to say that a language is a global language? Why English is the language which is usually placed in this connection? Or is it the case that, once a language becomes a global language, it is there forever? These are fascinating questions to explore, whether your first language is English or not. If English is your mother tongue, you may have mixed feelings about the way English is spreading around the world. You may feel pride, that your language is the one which has been so successful; but your pride may be tinged with concern, when you realize that people in other countries may not want to use the language in the same way that you do, and are changing it to suit themselves. We are all sensitive to the way other people use the language. Deeply held feelings of ownership begin to be questioned. Indeed, if there is one predictable consequence of a language becoming a global one, it is that no one owns it any more. This