ENGLISH AS GLOBAL LANGUAGE

English as a Global Language

English as a Global Language

Introduction

The rapid spread of English around the world is a topic that prompts discussions related to the effects of globalization, increased use of communication technologies, cultural imperialism, and language teaching and learning. Population growth trends indicate that users of English as a second or a foreign language outnumber those who acquired it as a mother tongue (Quirk, 2007).

In response to this scenario, issues arise involving the ownership of the English language, the need for standards, better assessment methods, and intelligibility. Amidst these discussions in the field, the concept of world Englishes was coined in the mid-1980s as an approach to describe, analyze, and explain the spread and use of the language in diverse contexts. British linguist Kingsley Bolton, former president of the International Association for World Englishes, explains that the concept has three possible meanings (Phillipson, 2007). The first one refers to all of the existing approaches to the study of English around the world, whether the concept implies the singular form of one “international” or “global” English or sticks to the plural “Englishes.”

Discussion

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 (Kachru, 2008).

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) (Jenkins, 2006).

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 (Crystal, 2003).

Inherent in any type of linguistic hierarchy is the view of superiority and subordination. Robert Phillipson has addressed the domination and influence of English as linguistic imperialism. The teaching of English in countries that are politically marginalized or economically impoverished is a reflection of colonial periods when elites ruled and educated indigenous populations through the colonial language (Bolton, 2004). Those in positions of power create a dependency on English and establish it as a powerful language that shapes ...