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And if English weren’t so global? | ||
Tags: Language Importance | English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| sprachefin Triglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5745 days ago 300 posts - 317 votes  Speaks: German*, English, Spanish Studies: French, Turkish, Mandarin, Bulgarian, Persian, Dutch | Message 9 of 39 12 June 2009 at 4:36am | IP Logged | |||||
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The whole idea of "I want something to call 'my language'" is very compelling. That is why there are so many shots taken at making a lingua franca (such as Esperanto) for communication across the globe (not all reasons were for making it easier to communicate ;) ).
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| lecorbeau Diglot Senior Member Croatia Joined 6019 days ago 113 posts - 149 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Serbo-Croatian, Turkish | Message 10 of 39 12 June 2009 at 7:13am | IP Logged | |||||
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I agree that English, my native language it may be, still seems to elude "ownership".
It's funny, we say that native English speakers have an unfair advantage over nonnatives, but sometimes when I speak with Scandinavians/Germans/etc. that speak nigh flawless English---sometimes I can't help but wonder who truly is at a disadvantage: the (often) monolingual native speaker of the "international language" or the fully bilingual nonnative speaker? The ubiquity of English is unparalleled. Just by looking at some of your language profiles I can see how many of you learned the bulk of your English through media, entertainment, news, etc.---I can only imagine where my French would be had it been in the same situation. Edited by lecorbeau on 12 June 2009 at 7:14am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Tyr Senior Member Sweden Joined 5781 days ago 316 posts - 384 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swedish | Message 11 of 39 12 June 2009 at 10:30am | IP Logged | |||||
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Nah, it has to be English. The easiest language going.
It would be nice for Brits not to be considered dumb for not learning the other language but everyone- the whole world- would speak it far worse 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| lecorbeau Diglot Senior Member Croatia Joined 6019 days ago 113 posts - 149 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Serbo-Croatian, Turkish | Message 13 of 39 13 June 2009 at 6:30am | IP Logged | |||||
Ask the same question to a Frenchman and then a Dutchman. Then decide whether the question is stupid. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| jbbar Senior Member Belgium Joined 5799 days ago 192 posts - 210 votes Speaks: English | Message 14 of 39 13 June 2009 at 11:15am | IP Logged | |||||
Lecorbeau, quite frankly, I'm not bitter that the English language has come this far. If it weren't for the British Empire and the United States' political, economical and technological strength, then English would never have been as relevant as it is today. The Anglo-Saxon civilization proved stronger than others so English rightfully earned its place. It is really a waste of time trying to find out what language might have been today's lingua franca instead of English because history is what it is and it cannot be undone. It also is not a matter of what you want. English did not come this far because some person wanted it to; it is the result of a historical process. For as long as there is no other country emerging to replace the United States as the world's most powerful and innovative country, then English is bound to stay here. However, there's more to it than that. Just consider the huge importance and widespread use of English in air traffic control, electronics, the high-tech industry, the world of informatics, etc. I don't see, say, Chinese ever replacing English in all these areas, unless perhaps they manage to subjugate the world to their rule and ban the use of English altogether. As a side note, I think they are still too busy trying to produce cars that actually pass Western safety standards right now. jbbar Edited by jbbar on 13 June 2009 at 11:18am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Jar-ptitsa Triglot Senior Member Belgium Joined 5897 days ago 980 posts - 1006 votes Speaks: French*, Dutch, German | Message 15 of 39 13 June 2009 at 11:36am | IP Logged | |||||
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I agree with jbbar: "Chinese" will not be the future lingua franca of all the world, it's possible it will be in Asia, but not in the other continents. China hasn't the history of the world empire, or the accessibility of English (orthography, connected at other languages etc)
I think that it's ok that English's the global language. If French were it, it would be convenient, but I like English. Dutch would be easier because it's more simple (no slang, phonetic orthography, lesser vocabulary, more slowly spoken, easier grammar ) but English's funnier. What a relief it's not Chinese. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| jbbar Senior Member Belgium Joined 5799 days ago 192 posts - 210 votes Speaks: English | Message 16 of 39 13 June 2009 at 11:49am | IP Logged | |||||
Yeah, and let's not forget India where English is one of the national languages. It is the de facto language of the federal government, military, business, and trade. Virtually all higher education is in English as well. That gives India a tremendous advantage over China. The country also has a thriving computer industry which, of course, relies on the English language. So I think that in all likelihood, English is going to get even more important. jbbar 1 person has voted this message useful |
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