About three times as many people are native chinese speakers as are native english speakers. More people are trying to learn english than any other language in the world. It may be the idea of an international auxiliary language for communication between groups speaking different primary languages. Over a decade ago, in 1997, there was a panel discussion at the university of michigan on the topic of english as the universal academic language. When a jewish ophthalmologist created the artificial language, he dreamed of a common language.
Our latest freakonomics radio episode is called what would be the best universal language. The number of people who speak hindiurdu, spanish, or arabic at home is in the same ballpark as the number of native english speakers. The universal language of literature books the guardian. Among the many languages, english is the one language that is widely spoken and used in the world. The english language is considered as a universal language, mainly because it is the most spoken language worldwide. Some dictionaries have up to 600,000 words, although most native english speakers have a vocabulary of up to only 60,000 words. Here are five of our favorite books about the evolution of the english language. Through out history, people have had to communicate to each other, whether it be for business, for hunting, or for fighting. Why english should not be the international language of. Do you think that the positive effects of this trend outweigh negative effects. How english became the universal language of the world. He says that english was far from the dominant scientific language in 1900. Why did english become a universal language and when. In how english became english simon horobin investigates the evolution of the english language, examining how the language continues to adapt even today, as english continues to find new speakers and.
This book provides a readable, concise history about the global language which is english, something that is spoken by over a billion people worldwide, whether as a primary or secondary language. The book focuses on english grammar and how english evolved when speakers of different languages came together. Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. This complex, frustrating, and fascinating language has had a lengthy journey to become the language we know today. And for many, many years it was the universal means of communication in western europe from the late medieval period to. It is the worlds second largest native language, the official language in 70 countries, and englishspeaking countries are responsible for about 40% of worlds total gnp. For a millennium or more, english was a great importer of words, absorbing vocabulary. In 1776, one vote gave america the english language instead of german. Download citation how english became the global language in this book, the first written about the globalization of the english language by a professional.
The word esperanto translates into english as one who hopes. Of course english is a global language,they would say. English as a universal language essay 1172 words bartleby. How english became the global language is a stimulating and worthwhile read in its own right, but is also a model for interdisciplinary approaches to complex social phenomena. In this useful short textbook, the reader will find the. Over the years for the need of a universal language, english has become a universal language in the world. When south sudan became independent in 2011, it made english its official language despite having very few resources or qualified personnel with which to. English is a west germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval england and eventually became a global lingua franca. These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Both names derive from anglia, a peninsula in the baltic sea.
Even in diplomacy, where french once ruled supreme, english is now dominant in most regions. English is a universal language for a multitude of reasons. English is closely related to frisian and low saxon. How english became the global language researchgate.
It is the worlds second native language, the formal language in 70 countries, and englishspeaking countries are accountable for about 40% of worlds total gnp. During the 1500s, english became the modern language we would recognize today. But this universalenglish thing is a doubleedged sword. The rise of english in diplomacy began in 1919, in the aftermath of world war i, when the.
This comes out, for instance, in a very accessible recent historical analysis of how english became the global language northrup 20. Universal language may refer to a hypothetical or historical language spoken and understood by all or most of the worlds population. In how english became english simon horobin investigates the evolution of the english language, examining how the language continues to adapt even today, as english continues to find new speakers and new uses. So, a little more thought may have been handy at times, but generally mccrums account is engaging and thoughtful, and production is pretty good. How english evolved into a global language bbc news.
For communication to be smooth among the different cultures there is a need for a universal language that will be understood by all. As a result, standardised english writing became a powerful tool in the hands of government, church and school in asking the peoples of the british isles to see themselves as one. Mcwhorter is a professor at columbia university, political commentator, and linguist. Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, horobin considers whether such changes are improvements, or evidence of slipping. English is now the dominant or official language in 75 territories.
Universal language, or yet another jewish conspiracy. You may think of latin as the dominant language of science. English is the international language of business, commerce, science, medicine,and many other key areas. English is the universal language essay 1182 words 5 pages. English became the lingua franca around wwii, but it was already used all through the british colonial empire, establishing it in north america and australia among others.
It is named after the angles, one of the germanic tribes that migrated to the area of great britain that later took their name, england. The bahaii faith, a universal religion originating in iran, maintains a universal language would promote dialogue, elicit better understanding. English as a global language, second edition institute for cultural. How did english become the worlds most spoken language. I surmise that the standard of english is the essential needs of advanced dialect, what s more it can help understudies. Is english the worlds current universal language because. Jeschonek is an awardwinning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. People have different theories on what effect english as a universal language will have on the world, and its competing languages. In some contexts, it refers to a means of communication said to be understood by all living things. The downside of english as the universal language the.
Note that theres no hope whatsoever that english will become a universal first language. If english became a universal language, the world will change in a range of different ways, whether that be communication, trade, or culture. And how has it evolved into the language used today. How did english become a socalled universal language.
Some answers highlight the british empire that spread the language. The quest for a universal language throughout human. The rise of english in diplomacy began in 1919, in the aftermath of world war i, when the treaty of. A new book by esther schor delightfully captures its idiosyncrasies in plain english. Opportunities to acquire a knowledge of the english language by visits, often prolonged, to britain, intermarriage, the presence of an influential british community in the capital, the services of. The search for a common language goes back millennia, but so. English can be used everywhere with educated people around the world. Survival the global rise of english is a complex topic, and it deserves the kind of careful treatment found in northrups exceptional book. Nowadays, english has become the universal language in the world.
English is without a doubt the actual universal language. English has become an universal language essay 306 words. In april, 1987, an election judge from missouri wrote to ann landers citing the following excerpt from the local election manual to support the argument that everyones vote counts. Minae mizumura similarly describes english as a universal language. His young adult fantasy novel, my favorite band does not exist, won the forward national literature award and was named one of booklists top ten first novels for youth. When germany annexed south pacific colonies in the 1880s, pidgin english was already the lingua franca and they let it remain. Humans may speak a universal language, say scientists. How english became the global language ef english live. Although to some extent the book did not fulfill my expectations of proving the case why english has become the global language, i think the author did a good job of weaving together historical facts to make a circumstantial case. The english language is spoken by more than a billion people throughout the world.
Pick up a book, learn a few words, or even start a course today and take your first steps. His crossgenre science fiction thriller, day 9, is an international book. True, the united states is today a net exporter of english, and nearly all countries whose most common first language is something else are net importers. The origin of english dates back to the 5 th century, however, the english language today is very different from how it was spoken then. Gordins upcoming book, scientific babel, explores the history of language and science. Given canada, england, and australia, the problem cannot possibly be the english language, but rather the way that language is used by 24news networks to manipulate voters and convince them that we should not follow canadas example. Introduction the phenomenon of the english language transformation into the global language arouses an intense academic interest in the theory and practice of the generally accepted language of worldwide communication smokotin, petrova, 2014. English became the lingua franca around wwii, but it was already used all through the british colonial empire, establishing it in north america and australia. The influence of english as a universal language is a subject matter. Postindependence, many countries became officially multilingual for the first time, but the various groups needed a language for communication with each other and with other nations. It is the worlds second largest native language, the official language in 70 countries, and englishspeaking countries are. English as a global language with millions of popular intuitions at a level which had simply not existed a decade before.
Will english become the universal language of the future. This gives the english language precedence over other languages when it comes to global acceptance. The history and development of english is fascinating and, of course, as a language it is always changing. How english became the universal language of the world %. And when you want something, the wise king of salem. In the alchemist the overriding trope of the universality of mans desirethe soul of the universeis the universal language. English is the language of political negotiations and international business. Nevertheless, linguists find it to have the right number of alphabets to be easily learnt. English for business, french for arts, diplomacy, etc. People often talk about english as a global language or lingua franca.
From the very beginning of human civilization it has always been the main international language used. You can subscribe to the podcast at apple podcasts or elsewhere, get the rss feed, or listen via the media player above. Before we learn how it became a universal language, lets explore a little about the history of english language. As a worldwide student,it is important to talk and compose a standard english as opposed to the ideal english model in your mind. People in those countries value english because it is the lan. With more than 350 million people around the world speaking english as a first language and more than 430 million speaking it as a second language, there are english speakers in most countries around the world. In a series of books culminating in 20s evocatively named. The universal language of literature with so many of the worlds great books not written in english why do british publishers translate so few, asks maya jaggi maya jaggi.
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