English as a global language
1. It goes without saying that modern world is becoming smaller all
the time. Every day distances between different countries seem less.
For this reason it’s becoming more and more important to know different
languages, especially English. Nowadays it can be called really a world
language.
2. And it is interesting to tell how English have become a global language.
The movement of English around the world began with the pioneering voyages
to the Americas and Asia, continued with the 19th century colonial development
in Africa and the South Pacific, and took a significant further step
when it was adopted in the 20th century as an official or semi-official
language by many newly independent states.
Now English is the dominant or official language in over 60 countries,
and is represented in every continent and in the 3 major oceans. English
is the first language in the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand. As
a second language it is spoken in India, Singapore and other countries.
And English is also used as a foreign language in Russia, China and
other countries throughout the world. It is this spread of representation,
which makes the application of the term “world language” a reality.
3. People realize that they need a global tongue, and there are many
reasons for that. The first and foremost reason for learning English
is communication. If you know English, you can speak with a large number
of people the world over.
Also English is the language of computers, science, sport, business,
politics. It is one of the 6 official languages if the United Nations.
4. But there are 3 elements, which complicate the linguistic situation
in the world.
The 1st is the rise of English to the position of world language. This
makes life easier for many people, but it irritates others.
The 2nd is the fear of disappearance of cultural identity of people
who speak minority languages.
The 3rd, more dangerous element is the modern reluctance [ri’laktens]
to accept multilingualism – using of 2 or more languages.
From my point of view, there should be a global language – English,
but it should not exclude other languages.
5. As I have said, it is necessary to know foreign languages. That is
why pupils have such subject as a foreign language at school.
I learn English, because it’s interesting for me to learn about customs,
traditions, culture, life of different people. Also I understand that
I can use it.
I want to read foreign books in the original. I like to travel. It is
difficult to visit countries, when you don't know the language of these
countries. But people can understand you if you speak English.
Knowledge of foreign languages helps young people of different countries
to understand each other, to develop friendship among them.
You can see a lot of advertisements, signboards, names in the streets.
Very often they are in English. If you know English, you can read and
understand them.
It’s also useful in shopping: it is clear what goods are made of.
There are a lot of films in English. If you know the language, you can
understand films without any help.
English will be of great use in my future profession.
Learning English is not an easy thing. It is a long process and takes
a lot of time and patience. But to know English today is necessary for
every educated person.
6. So, as you see, there are a lot of reasons to learn foreign languages.
English is really “a language that came from nowhere to conquer the
world”. I’m sure that nowadays English is an essential part of daily
life of every person all over the world.
