CONFLICTS IN LITERATURE

Conflicts in Literature

Conflicts in Literature

Introduction

The English language was originally propelled by the spread of the British Empire in the 19th century and, subsequently, by the expansion of the U.S. economic and political influence in the 20th century. English now extends across the globe. By the 21st century, English had become the main world language of literature, periodical publications, science, advertising, pop music, cinema, and technology. In approximately 75 countries, English is either the first language (LI) of the majority of the population or it is used extensively in important social institutions. Conservatively, it is safe to say that there are close to 330 million LI speakers of English in the world. If Creole varieties of English are included, the number swells to around 400 million speakers. Furthermore, it has been estimated that there are currently 430 million second-language (L2) speakers of English and an additional 750 million speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL).

Analysis

While these numbers might seem staggering, an exact assessment of the actual number of people who speak and/or use English on a daily basis is impossible to attain, owing to multiple factors (e.g., skewed census data, accuracy in identifying a person's proficiency, and limited access to political records). Roughly speaking, though, there are close to 2 billion people across the globe who use English in some form or capacity, according to David Crystal in his work English as a Global Language.

How and why has English attained such a commanding role in the everyday lives of so many people? On a global level, English has taken many forms and is used for many different purposes. To understand the functions that English has in societies around the world, it is necessary to consider the historical influence of colonialism and the modern course of economic globalization. Categorizing societies according to the prevalence and type of English spoken allows us to understand how these processes have affected social interaction on both local and global scales. Braj Kachru has developed a framework of three concentric circles that concisely categorizes all societies that use English:

? The inner circle (320-380 million speakers) includes societies in which English is the medium of public and private life and English is overwhelmingly the first language (e.g., the United Kingdom and the United States).

? The outer circle (300-500 million speakers) is made up of societies in which English is either used by the state as an official language and has become part of the country's most important social institutions (although it may not be the first language of all citizens) and/or has a significant role as an additional language (e.g., India and Singapore).

? The expanding circle (500 million-1 billion speakers) encompasses those states whose members recognize the importance of English for international communication, though they do not have a history of colonization by countries from the inner circle (e.g., China and Russia).

It can be suggested that although useful, Kachru's model situates the inner-circle countries as retaining the power to measure the ...