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
  • 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

    The rise of English as an international language has always been a debatable issue. Its critics condemn the global dominance of English as a form of linguistic imperialism, in which hegemonic powers like Great Britain and the United States extend their influence and interests by promoting the teaching and learning of English (Phillipson, 1992). In contrast, others have observed that the ascension of English as an international language has been supported by individuals in various contexts who appropriate the language as a means to pursue their localized interests and agenda (Canagarajah, 2007). Crystal (1997) explains that there are very many people globally that use English in comparison to other languages which is historical.…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 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

    The fact of the increasing number of English speaker, as the result of its spread and diffusion has undeniably brought English becoming a global language. However, the huge number of speaker and wide spread area is not the most significant factor that makes a language become a global language. Crystal points out that global status is achieved when a language plays an important role in several country (David, 2003). For English, this evident is obviously seen in the term of its use as the first language in several country such as in USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa where English is used as a means of communication in the whole aspect of social life. However, not only limited in those country English is also spoken as the second language, as a complement to the mother tongue, yet it plays role as an official language. In other country, where English is not mother tongue nor an official…

    • 2328 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful 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

    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
  • Powerful Essays

    Controversy of Globish

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages

    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.…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful 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
  • Best Essays

    Monaghan, F., (2012) English Lessens, In A. Hewing & C. Tagg, (eds) (2012) The Politics of English: Conflict, Competition, Co-existence, Abingdon, Routledge/ Milton Keynes, The Open University.…

    • 1861 Words
    • 8 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
  • Powerful Essays

    English has become the first `truly global language` (McCrum et al., 2002, p.9). As a result of advances in technology and transport, varieties of English have spread throughout the world. This internationalisation has been described by Shreeve as an `identified phenomenon` (1999, p.1). English now underpins the lives and cultures of a broad spectrum of people, with one in four people in the world now fluent users of English (Crystal, 2002, p.10).…

    • 2649 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful 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

    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
  • 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