English--A-Global-language

GroupTwo黄莎祝佳佳康英哲郑泽宇Whatisagloballanguage?Whatmakesagloballanguage?Whydoweneedagloballanguage?Whatarethedanguagesofagloballanguage?Couldanythingstopagloballanguage?Alanguagethathasdevelopedaspecialrolethatisrecognizedineverycountry.whatisa“specialrole”?1.largenumbersofpeoplespeakitasamothertongue.e.g.:USA,Britain,Canada,Australia……2.Itcanbemadeapriorityinthecountry’sforeign-languageteaching.e.g.:Englishiscurrentlytaughtasasecondlanguageinover100countriesincludingChina,Russia,Spain……Thespeakers:nothingtodowiththenumberofspeakersbutwhothosespeakersare.Power:ecomonic,technological,andculturalpower.Latinwasaninternationlanguage.Peopleusingdifferentlanguagesneeda“linguafranca”tocommunicate.e.g.:hello,bonjour,你好Internationalacademicandbusinesscommunitiesneeda“linguafranca”tocommunicate.e.g.:thepeoplewhoattendanmeetingmaybecomefromGermany,Italy,indiaandsoon,theyneedalanguagetocommunicate.Peoplebecomemoremobilebothphysicallyandelectronically.Thosewhohavesuchalanguageasamothertonguewillbemoreabletothinkandworkquicklyinthelanguageandtomanipulatetotheiradvantage.AgloballanguagewillhastenthedisappearanceofminoritylanguagesTheanswermaybeyesbutthetechnologytobulida“machinetranslation”wouldtakeagenerationortwotorealize.EnglishisobviouslyagloballanguageEnglishisnottrulyagloballanguageFirstofall,Englishisthedominantlanguageofbusiness,travelandscience.ThesecondreasonisthatEnglishistheofficiallanguageofmorethanseventy—fivecountries.ThelastreasonisthateveryyearaboutonebillionpeoplestudyEnglish.Englishisusedatbusinessmeetingsandinternationalsportsevents.Englishisoftenusedattouristinformationcenters,ininternationalhotels,atairports.Englishisusedasacommonlanguageatourclassandeducationalsettings.peopleoftenuseEnglishintheinternetcommunication.Oftheseseventy—fivecountries,Englishmaybetheonlyofficiallanguageofthecountry,likeinEngland,orEnglishmaybeusedalongwithotherofficiallanguages,likeinSingaporeandIndia.EveryyearaboutonebillionpeoplestudyEnglish.Forexample:AlmostallthechinesestudentsbeginlearningEnglishfromjuniorschool.BecauselearningEnglisharehelpfultoourfuture,canprovidesomeopportunity.TheabovethreepointsisthereasonwhyIthinkthatEnglishhasbecomeagloballanguage.Tosumup,Englishisusedeverydaybymanypeople.Let’slookatwhysomepeopledon’tbelieveEnglishhasreplacedotherlanguages.First,thereareaboutthreetimesasmanypeoplewhospeakChineseastheirfirstlanguageasthosewhospeakEnglishasafirstlanguage.AndinmanycountrieswheresomepeopleuseEnglishforworkeachday,theydon’tuseEnglishanywhereelse.EveninEnglish-speakingcountries,therearemillionsofpeoplewhoprefertospeakalanguageotherthanEnglishathome,withfriends,oratwork.Second,Imentionedbeforethatseventy-fivecountrieshaveEnglishastheirofficiallanguage.Thisdoesn’tmeanall,orevenmostofthepeopleinthesecountriescanspeakEnglish.Forexample,inIndia.mostsourcesagreethatonlyabout5percentofthepopulationspeaksEnglish.That’sasmallpercentage!Third,howmuchEnglishdoesapersonneedtoknowtobecalledanEnglishspeaker?PeoplemaylearnsomeEnglishforspecificsituations,suchasthetaxidriverImentionedearlier.However,Ithinkyouwouldallagreewithmethatataxidriverwhoknowsafewphraseslike“Whereareyougoing?”or“Whatisthenameofyourhotel?”isn’treallyaproficientEnglishspeaker.AnotherexampleisAirspeak,theEnglishthatisusedbyairtrafficcontrollersandpilots.ApilotforJapanAirlinesoranairtrafficcontrollerinParisneedstoknowAirspeak.ButtheymaylearnonlytheEnglishwordstheyneedforthesejobs,andthereforetheycan’tbeconsideredEnglishspeakers.ThepointhereisthatpeopleallovertheworldmayusesomeEnglishforworkorothersituations.Nevertheless,thisdoesn’tmeantheyarefluentinEnglish.Theystillusetheirfirstlanguagefordailycommunication.Englishisnottheirmainlanguage.WhatkindsofdevelopmentcouldimpedethefuturegrowthofEnglish?Asignificancechangeinthebalanceofpower-----political,economic,technologicalorcultural.ThefutureofEnglishasaworldlanguage.Languageisanimmenselydemocratizinginstitution.Tohavelearnedalanguageisimmediatelytohaverightsinit.andyoumayaddtoit,modifyit,playwithit,asyouwill.Thelocalwordsbegintobeusedattheprestigiouslevelsofsociety—bypoliticians,religiousleaders,popmusicians,andothers.Usinglocalwordsisnolongerseenascarelessorignorant,withinacountry,itisrespectable,itmayevenbe”cool”.Thenextstepistomovefromnationaltointernationallevels.Nomatterhowtheworldchanges,itissafetosaythatEnglishwillcontinuetobethemainlanguageusedinmoreandmoreinternationalsettings.AndEnglishwon'treplaceotherlanguagesfordailycommunication,IthinkpeoplewilluseEnglishalongwithotherlanguages--WiththeimprovementofEnglish,mothertonguelevelwillnotdecline.