Is English really the international language?

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global english picToday, the English language has certainly reached a global level. Wherever in the world you travel, especially to popular tourist locations, it is almost expected that the locals can understand you. For many, English has become a natural second language, yet how far can it be said that it has become the ‘international mother tongue’?

On a native-speaker level, the number of people speaking English is reported to have declined. In contrast, Mandarin is the world’s most spoken language, but other than China’s population of about a billion, not many speak it. As a second language, on the other hand, English is surely worthy of the title as a “global language”. Indeed, in most European countries, English is a required subject in school, and it has also become the mandated language for communication among major companies and international institutions. In particular, national universities tend to offer their degrees in English. The underlying reason behind this is that the language has thrived on so-called ‘cultural imperialism’ ever since the British Empire first set sail over 300 years ago.

Then, the obvious proliferation of English seems to have created a new generation of bilinguals, if not multilinguals. However, the branch of ‘international English’ we speak and associate with today is very different from the one that it derived from. Whether it is American or British English, or even a kind of ‘Euro English’, the language has been reshaped and influenced by numerous cultures throughout the centuries. In light of this, it might not be cultural imperialism anymore, but rather a mutual collaboration between societies to create an international language that is both culturally and nationally represented.

Whether English is the international language or not, this will surely be a continuously debated topic.

Do you think English deserves the title as the “World Language”?

 

References

http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/engunilang.php

http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/should-english-be-the-worlds-international-language/

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4387421/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/english-wont-dominate-world-language/#.U3mvOG34LwA

http://www.cepr.org/PRESS/DP2055PR.htm

 

By Oscar Larsson
Student at University of Glasgow, School of Political & Social Sciences
Communication Trainee at TermCoord