English will never dominate the world. It'll never replace other languages because it forces other countries to adopt English cultures. People want their own culture and their own language. They only need English in business, sometimes.
It is very difficult for English to dominate the world someday because people want to keep speaking their own language, but whether we like it or not, learning English is a need in the globalised world where we live nowadays. A person who manages to dominate the use of this language has more advantages and chances than other people who do not know the language.
As far as I am concerned, English is the global language par excellance. If you know English you can communicate with almost everyone all over the world and this is something that I have been able to check by studying outside Spain. Since I am in Sussex, I have met people from other parts of Europe, but also from countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, the United States,... and it is amazing how you can communicate with all of them through one common language: English. Furthermore, if you know English you are able to work everywhere and you have more opportunities to be chosen for a job than a person who does not speak it, but it is not true that you only need English in business. English can be very useful in almost every situation, from reading the instructions of an electrical appliance to travelling anywhere.
However, this fact does not mean that everyone must stop speaking their own language and start speaking only English, leaving their culture behind. The point is that it is good to know another language different from your mother tongue and if you have to choose another language, the best choice is English because nowadays it is the most worldwide language.
In conclusion, English may not dominate the world, but you certainly may dominate the world by speaking English.
1 comment:
I am sorry to disagree, but English is not the global language.
I live in London and if anyone says to me “everyone speaks English” my answer is “Listen and look around you”. If people in London do not speak English then the whole question of a global language is completely open.
The promulgation of English as the world’s “lingua franca” is unethical and linguistically undemocratic. I say this as a native English speaker!
Unethical because communication should be for all and not only for an educational or political elite. That is how English is used internationally at the moment.
Undemocratic because minority languages are under attack worldwide due to the encroachment of majority ethnic languages. Even Mandarin Chinese is attempting to dominate as well. The long-term solution must be found and a non-national language, which places all ethnic languages on an equal footing is long overdue.
An interesting video can be seen at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_YHALnLV9XU Professor Piron was a former translator with the United Nations
A glimpse of Esperanto can be seen at http://www.lernu.net
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