ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE

English as a Global Language



Table of Contents

Introduction3

Knowledge & Understanding of how English became a global language5

Views & Arguments7

Implications of global language status for teaching14

Reflection16

Conclusion17

References18

English as a Global Language

Introduction

The definition of a global language is a language which has been given a specific place within countries and communities around the world, even in places where there are very few native speakers of this language. (Zai, 1999) Although English is not the most widely spoken language in the world in terms of the number of native speakers - there are many more native Chinese speakers than native English speakers - it is described as a 'global language' and Chinese is not. This is because there are few other communities in the world that give Chinese, be it Mandarin or Cantonese, a particular use or function, probably due to the fact that its alphabet is so different from that which is used in the majority of the rest of the world. (Crystal, 1997)

English is spoken as a first language by more than 300 million people throughout the world, and used as a second language by many more. One fifth of the world's population speaks English with a good level of competence, and it is likely that within the next few years the number of people speaking English as a second language will increase significantly.

Carl Marx once said that if you could sing The Internationale, you would be able to find friends everywhere in the world. It is true of English. Crystal (1997) reports that 85 per cent of international organisations make official use of English, at least 85 per cent of the world's film market is in English, and about 90 per cent of published articles are written in English. (Neave, 2000)

In addition, Zai, Zheng and Zhang (1999) report that more than 80 per cent of all scientific papers are first published in English and over half of the world's technical and scientific periodicals are in English. (Jenkins, 2001)

Furthermore, five of the largest broadcasters (CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and CBC) reach a potential audience of about 300 million people through English broadcasts, computer program instructions and software are often supplied only in English, 85 per cent of the international telephone conversations are conducted in English, and English is the language of medicine, electronics, space and the Olympics.

In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, David Crystal (1995) draws attention to some astounding figures. English is present on every continent. In over 60 countries, it is used officially or without authorisation of the government and is prominent in 20 or more. More than 150 million people receive English language radio shows. A phenomenal 80% of the information stored electronically around the world is in English. Crystal also says that "over 50 million children study English as an additional language at primary level; over 80 million study it at secondary level (these figures exclude China)". Finally, he notes that over two thirds of the world's scientists write in ...