What impact does the globalization of English have on the language itself?
The impact that globalization of English has on itself is that many countries have adoted the language as their second language. Many countries have done this because they understand that English is the ultimate source of communication and will help with their counties development to prosper in the expanding worlds. Countries have given up other second languages, such as French, and incorporated English to be taught as a second language in their school systems. English is being adopted by foreign countries to help communicate with world powers and have a say in global affairs with the leaders of the world, such as the US.
In the US, English has been the official language of the country. But due to the increased numbers of immigrants in the United States and the increased number of the Hispanic population, there are a number of people who are not being taught English or don't know it at all. As the number of Spanish-speakers increases in the United States, the country will become a bilingual nation. In the future, Americans might have to know English and Spanish to communicate wth one another in the nation.
How is globalization influencing the evolution of English?
Globalization is influencing the evolution of English by being the main language in foreign countries. Since the United States is the world super power, other countries tend to take on that nations official language in order to be more readily communative with the country. English allows the smaller countries to trade, buy and sell products with one another without having a burden in communication. As English is being more predominantly used in other countries, those countries use both languages to advertise and promote themselves. If a country may be dominant in two languages, a restaurant will have a menu with both languages to make it easier for the consumer to read and purchase an item. For example, in Canada, French is more dominantly used in their Eastern states but the Western states use English as their main form of communication. In the Eastern states of Canada, it is possible to see a menu in a restaurant that has English and French, since both languages are dominantly used. This occurs in other countries that uses both languages dominantly, such as France and Mexico, in places where the two languages are highly used.
I agree that smaller countries use English as a gateway for trading with one another. English is being used by more countries as a second language over other languages because it is the language of one of the most powerful nations, the United States. If we watch the news, once in a while we will see another nation’s leader speaking in English, especially when our government goes to their countries.
ReplyDeleteEnglish is the official language for the United States, but I agree that in the future we may need to know Spanish and English to communicate. Seeing that there are so many people here in the United States who do not speak English, we may just turn out to be like Canada, where French is mainly on one side and English is mainly on the other.
Then again, in the future, Spanish may be the language spoken throughout the United States, seeing the rise of Spanish speakers in the United States and how many do not speak English. Also the rise of cities, like Hartford Connecticut, where 80% of the people are Hispanic and most of them do not have a problem working or getting by with their daily lives without knowing English.
English is very powerful. I agree with you on that; it is evident from what people all over the world. In terms of utilizing commodities, and knowledge; learning English is a must. English has the power to give people better jobs, education – basically a better life. I think the growth of the English language promotes evolution of the language itself. And one can argue the English growth, can inhibit other cultures by not expressing their languages enough. I disagree. Why? I believe that exclusivity makes cultural identity stronger, using it at home empowers your self-identity. But also, I think English is taking over the world. Eventually if anyone using a uncommon language will be forced to rely on learning English for a standard way of living.
ReplyDeleteI think the growth of English is a product of demand. Since, mostly everyone speaks English, the more growth English gets. This process is unavoidable, and linguists are seeing this as a threat. It remains as a heated debate , “English vs Other languages”, but my thoughts? I think it's a good thing to have a universal language for people to communicate. You state , “English allows the smaller countries to trade, buy and sell products with one another without having a burden in communication.” I completely agree. It's very observant of you to point that out, exchange of goods and knowledge will continue to promote growth to the English language.
You are absolutely right; other countries have realized how important the English language is to know if they want to thrive in the business world, internationally. I know that Germany has adopted English as their second language and they are teaching kids English as a requirement as early as grade school. I can’t imagine learning another language all the way through childhood as a requirement, but that’s how important it is to them to be able to know English. They need it to communicate through the internet as well, which has proven to be the source of most of our communication today. I don’t think we will ever goes that far to make Spanish a requirement of education, but there might be a bigger emphasis on it. It is already helpful to know Spanish and be bilingual if you are looking for a job. We are doing this to accommodate for Spanish speakers and the rest of the world is doing the same thing to accommodate for English speakers. When I was in France and Germany a lot of the advertisements were in English along with dinner menus and street signs. A lot of other countries rely on American money to stay afloat.
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