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English as a Global Language

Nowadays, English is becoming more and more popular all over the world. Not only it is
considered as the native language of around 400 million people in many different countries,
but also it is used as an international language in professional fields. Set aside the native
speakers, there is around billion people using English as their second language. English is the
language of medicine, tourism, science and technology, business, politics (e.g. the United
Nations), and the official language of many conferences held all around the world. In such
manner, English is the tool that helps people communicate, exchange not only knowledge or
business related materials, but also understand different cultures and establish cross-cultural
connections between people of different origin. English is widespread to the extent, that the
term 'global language' has become a synonym of English in some way.
If language is to become global, according to Crystal, it is typically done in one of two ways.
First one, is the official selection. The language is chosen by the government of a specific
country to be its first or second language. This, of course, comes with the use of language in
every domain, which makes it vital, and forces the spread of the language outside of its
mother- country. Second way is making the language taught in schools. In this case, even
though it is not an official language of the country, as a compulsory subject is is taught in
schools and thanks to that it stays vital, spreads among a large number of people, is later used
by those who are able to speak it, and all this put together gives the result, that the language
grows in strength. This method, however, is not as stable as the first one. An example for that
can be Russian language that was taught in Poland as the country was under the Soviet
regime. With the fall of communism in Poland, the language was gradually leaving polish
education system and was changed to English. Of course, there is a variety of languages that

are taught in Polish schools e.g. German, Spanish or French, but it is safe to say the the
majority of students are attending English course.
The example of Russian illustrates another valid feature that the language must meet to
become global, namely the strength of the country it comes from. As Russia is still a
superpower, and one of the most 'to reckon with' countries in the world, the decrease of its
influence over Poland, made the language weaker. Truth be told, the fact that Polish society
had enough of the oppressing regime, could have influence the fact, that from the language
that was spoken or understood by majority of Polish citizens, Russian has become a language
that is known to a specific group of people which have chosen to learn it. Another example
might be Latin. As long as the Roman Empire had military and political dominance, the
language was in active use and spreading over the world. The fall of the empire was a starting
point of Latin's slow death. To sum up the though, for language to become global it takes not
only the fact, that is should be official (or at least on of the widespread) language of some
country, but the country itself must be a strong basis that will support the language growth by
its political, cultural and military dominance. To understand how English acquired the status
of global language, one needs to look back at the its history.

English was born during early middle-ages. With Anglo-Saxon tribes settling in England in
the fifth century, the mixture of Germanic dialects spread across the land. Not long after, the
futhorc runic alphabet was replaced by the Latin one. With Norse people settling in the British
Isles from the 8th century, Old English started to mix with Old Norse. The remnants of which,
are visible in the language until this very day (e.g. th- pronouns). With 1066 Norman conquest
of England, another merger took place, as English being under the influence of Norse
language, was now being influenced by Norman language. It is important to underline the
fact, that Norse and Norman are rooted in different families (Germanic and Romance), thus,

English derives from different backgrounds. The background is in fact a term relevant in case
of the speakers of the language. With the development of language known as Anglo-Norman,
it was the upper class that adopted it, while the lower class was still using Anglo-Saxon.
Middle-age came with the development and stabilization of language, know to us as Middle
English and it was not until the beginning of the Great Vowel Shift, that we can speak about
Early Modern English. 15th century was the time, when English returned to official documents
and higher class. Since book printing started during that time, English was even more present.
Without getting into too much detail, English language has become a fully developed
formation that was build upon a solid basis.
The spread of English outside of the British Isles started with colonialism and rise of British
Empire. From 17th century onwards, England has established colonies in places like: USA,
Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, West Africa, South Asia, East
Africa and South-East India. Even after this period, when colonies were freed from the
English Crown, the language was rooted so deeply in their culture, that in many cases English
was chosen over the aboriginal language of the land. It was present in legislations, trade
papers, administration, education and as a result of all that, English has become a language of
everyday life. It should not be surprising, that colonies decided to stay with it as a official or
second language. But it was not only because of the colonialism that English spread around
the world at that time. Industrial Revolution which started in the second part of 18th century
created another field, on which English was being spread. The important fact is, that at that
time, England was leading the Industrial Revolution. This means that to obtain knowledge or
to understand the documentation of the machinery produced in England, people from foreign
countries had to understand English. But there are more examples that English at that time,
was a leading language when it comest to technological development. The first commercial
telegraphs, that revolutionized the way of communication, were build by English inventors

and developed with the use of English. Because of that, English was widely accepted as the
language of telegraph operators all around the world.
However powerful and effective Britain was in spreading English, it was the United States
that took it to the next level. From the late 19th century America has become a economic
superpower, that was leading a big part of worlds politics. The events that took place in at the
beginnig if 20th century (the World War I), endend in creating a cooperative organizations like
League of Nations. Although there were over 50 states involved, there were only three official
languages used. English was one of them. With the further development into the United
Nations, English was still one of the most important languages used. Even though, there are
six official languages of the UN: Arabic, Chinese, English, French,Russian, and Spanish, the
fact that the main administration of this organization is placed in New York, makes English
thr most important language (even if it is not openly stated).
However, it is not only politics and USAs superior postion which made the language spread.
With the rise of contemporary culture and technology (both americanized to an extent),
English came to the most remote parts of the world. The enumeration can be started with
Hollywood, which is now being an inextricable part of worlds culture. People all around the
world are treating hollywood productions not really as a foreign movies, but rather a part of
globalized, mainstream pop culture. The division is made to Hollywood blockbusters and
independent cinematography, big part of which is made in local or other foreign languages,
other than English. Nevertheless, English infiltrated into the pop culture of the World. Next
comes the technology development which took place in the USA. With the development of
Personal Computer, English was brought to every household holding a computer. Although
software is often localized, there is a certain level of language knowledge that is received
when using a PC. More than that, in case of many smaller projects, there is no money to
develop a programe and localize it, and because of that it is made in English.

The position of English as a global language is undeniable. Even though, there are more
Mandarin and Spanish native speakers, it is English that is used in the most important and
progressive fields of life. The fact, that the culture of English speaking countries is becoming
global, is only securing the position of English. As language is a part of culture, the entire
world is adopting the language with it.

Sources:
1. Crystal, English as a global language Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press, 1997.

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