GLOBAL LANGUAGE

To what extent do the disadvantages of having a global language such as English outweigh the advantages?

To what extent do the disadvantages of having a global language such as English outweigh the advantages?

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.

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.

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 English.

Advantages and disadvantages of English as a universal language

The consolidation of English as a "lingua franca" across the globe has led to debates within certain circles as to its benefits and drawbacks. There are two fundamental advantages that I ...