English as the world-language

VLK · English as the world-language

I don`t know whether this is accurate or not but the frequently heard claim is that when the United States was founded it was decided by a difference of one vote that English is the language of government rather than German. Imagine if the USA had chosen German as the language of government, how different the world history would be.

Today English is the overwhelmingly dominant language in the world. The recent trend has taken place since WWII after which English has really run over every other language. Nothing to do with England or the UK but everything to do with the USA.

Nowadays English is such a dominant language that many people who don`t speak it as their first language learn only English and couldn`t be bothered about other languages. Those people living in English-speaking countries often couldn`t care less about learning a foreign language as it would be pointless because wherever you go there is always someone who can speak English. I know English people in many countries who have tried to learn the language of that country but they have no opportunity to try their skills because as soon as it becomes apparent they are English-speaking everyone switches to English because everyone wants to practice one`s English.

What about the future? Some joker said that in Russia the optimists study English and the pessimists study Chinese. Is there any threat to the supremacy of English as the world-wide number one language? Many people say that Spanish is gaining ground and especially as it is becoming more and more spoken in the US it may take the place of English. I don`t believe that at all.

However, just like Latin died out as a world language the same will happen to English. That may be in the year 3500 but nothing ever stays the same.

Rinty

I dont think that there is a need for a world language as such. If people who need to can converse in different languages and business and the web is easily translated, what is the problem.

How do you think history would differ if german was the official US language?

I am not saying that it wouldnt, I just find it difficult to imagine what difference it would have made.

Germans are the biggest single european immigrant community in the states, I think they have been for most of its history.

English is the most widely spoken language in international communications, is the biggest language to be studied as a "second" language, I dont think that there is a need to be make it "official".

As a first language English is spoken by about the same amount of people as Spanish or Hindi. Chinese is spoken, as a first language by about the same as those three combined.

Abieuan

Rinty wrote:

Rinty

Blackleaf

macnumpty

But the number of English L2 speakers elsewhere around the world? The British didn't take English to Europe! That's happened as a result of US political and economic hegemony: US English is now seen as a global prestige language.

English will go through changes though, you can already see the signs in the way the former colonies learn and speak English. What we might dismiss as errors today might be the key features of Singapore English, or Hong Kong English tomorrow.

However, I think the likeliest outcome will be to see English as a diglossic language, with a local form being the 'street' language, that people use every day, but Global Stnadard (US?) English as the one used in formal communications. There's already a precedent for this:consider how Scots was to an extent considered a 'lesser' language, or even still a dialect of English. I reckon we're going to see the same pattern of variation and change, combined with status issues, in all the former colonies.

If this happens, another factor to consider is the Social one: the Critical Applied Linguisitics techniques that were tried in newly-independent former colonies made social divisions worse. The idea was that primary education would be taught in an area's local language, secondary would be taught in one of the country's official languages, and tertiary education would be taught in the ex-colonial language. The problem was, wealthier parents just had their kids educated privately in the ex-colonial language right from the start, giving them a natural advantage at University.

That'll only emphasise the difference in status: wealthier English speakers in the former colonies will speak the global standard more naturally; the less well-off will gravitate towards the 'lower' form.

VLK

LAz

The language that gets distributed the most becomes the main one... be it Greek, Latin, or now, English. I don't think that English will cease being the main language anytime soon. It has been challenged by French and Spanish in the past, but those two were not strong enough.

sandmountainslim

gordon899

the english language, and what a broad church it now is, is here to stay.

macnumpty

Where language is concerned, nothing is here to stay. English as we know it might'nt be around forever. But out of all the key world languages at the moment, English is the one most likely to evolve into a major language group. The chances are that on six continents, there will be at least one 'Anglic' language spoken, and the big question will be how closely it resembles the English we speak today.

What is most likely to keep English as it stands in use is modern communication. The biggest change will be its use. You see in Arabic three commonly used forms of the language: the Classical form (seen as the purest), a Modern Standard (used in formal communications) and the local dialects which are generally used in informal, private situations. Given that there's no culturally significant attachment to a classical form of English (as there is in Arabic), English could well be around for a long time as the prestige equivalent of the Modern Standard, with the Anglic successor languages operating at a lower level.

Of course, that's all predicated on an English-speaking nation (ie, the US) being a key global power. If the US should ever find itself overtaken, or if Spanish provides real competition to the power of English within the US, then all bets are, as they say, off, and Anglic could be the sole way ahead.

That said, given the time it would take for these changes to happen, the chances of me being around when I'm proven right or wrong are pretty much nil. Very Happy

Neil

That German almost became the US language is an urban myth
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/H._L._Mencken/31

Because, for the first time we can write & speak instantly across the world I think a world language is inevitable & it is almost bound to be English. China may have more who speak it as a first language but English is the world's second language everywhere.

In fact Chinese is not one language but a whole number of interlinked dialects whith a common written form. Lee Kuan Yew tells an amusing story about him visiting south china with a governement interpreter. Since the Chinese of Singapore originally came from south China he found himself in the position of having to translate, via English, what the local south Chinese party leader was saying, to the Beijing interpreter.

Humanity won't get a new language (excluding techncal languages like Geek) till we have settlements in other star systems