How is it that English has become such a dominant world language
How is it that English has become such a dominant world language?
It is estimated that in the world today about two billion people have some working knowledge of English, and the language is spreading rapidly. It is safe to say that English has become the global language.
Colonization under the British Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries spread the English language around the world. English became the main language in many of these countries, for example Canada (where French was also spoken), the US, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Inother countries, like India and Pakistan, English was used as the language of business and commerce andoffered a good way of communicating between people who had so many different dialects. This led to the use of English as a lingua franca, where people with different mother tongues communicate witheach other through English. It is inevitable as the world goes global and technology shrinks the distance between peoples that one language will emerge as the prominent means of communication. Because it was already so widespread, English has become and is that language. Another reason for the spread of English is the cultural and economic dominance of the United States. The British would like to imagine that they “own” the language, and they have given us Shakespeare, the BBC and Monty Python, but the huge influence of Hollywood, television, MacDonald’s and Coca-Cola, for example, have helped not only to spread English, but have also made it popular to speak English. Add to this music, music videos, programmes about all the musicians and actors etc. and you see that children are flooded with examples of English. This early exposure to English means that so many millions of people will be primed to use English as a foreign and second language, making it easier to learn and develop into fluency.
Because the internet and many other digital breakthroughs more or less started in the US, the working
It is estimated that in the world today about two billion people have some working knowledge of English, and the language is spreading rapidly. It is safe to say that English has become the global language.
Colonization under the British Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries spread the English language around the world. English became the main language in many of these countries, for example Canada (where French was also spoken), the US, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Inother countries, like India and Pakistan, English was used as the language of business and commerce andoffered a good way of communicating between people who had so many different dialects. This led to the use of English as a lingua franca, where people with different mother tongues communicate witheach other through English. It is inevitable as the world goes global and technology shrinks the distance between peoples that one language will emerge as the prominent means of communication. Because it was already so widespread, English has become and is that language. Another reason for the spread of English is the cultural and economic dominance of the United States. The British would like to imagine that they “own” the language, and they have given us Shakespeare, the BBC and Monty Python, but the huge influence of Hollywood, television, MacDonald’s and Coca-Cola, for example, have helped not only to spread English, but have also made it popular to speak English. Add to this music, music videos, programmes about all the musicians and actors etc. and you see that children are flooded with examples of English. This early exposure to English means that so many millions of people will be primed to use English as a foreign and second language, making it easier to learn and develop into fluency.
Because the internet and many other digital breakthroughs more or less started in the US, the working