Phase 2

Abstract

In this essay, I was tasked with researching a specific topic in language and literacy and formulating an argument. I decided to continue off of ideas established in my language and literacy narrative, and research about the role of the English language as an international language and a globally dominant one.

Research Exploratory Essay

Society has advanced a lot since it began. We’ve evolved from hunter gatherers, to small villages, to towns, cities, and eventually countries. More recently, however, we’ve become an interconnected global community that spreads across to the farthest corners of our planet. This new development has created a need for a means of communication. Each country developed their own unique language, their own way of communicating with each other, and if someone from Spain wants to talk to someone from China, they need to be able to understand each other. This is where English comes in. As we have become more and more interconnected, English has taken the role of an international language, and I’ve seen it myself. When I visited Egypt, I’ve seen tourists from all over the world, whose first language isn’t English, interact with tour guides whose first language also isn’t English, and both communicate with English. Its prevalence and benefits across education, international and domestic affairs, and even commerce has made it more useful than any other language in the world. Therefore, in a modern interconnected world, English has taken the role of the international language and thus become the most powerful language in the world.

To understand what makes English so powerful, we need to understand what it means to be an international language, or lingua franca. Veronica Nesterenko, a researcher in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Tomsk State University, in her paper “Global Language: Will the Sub Ever Set on the Empire of the English Language?” examines how English has come to be the international language. In the beginning of her paper, however, Nesterenko defines a lingua franca as “a language of international communication applied in almost every sphere of social life…” (Nesterenko, 602). She refers to English as the current lingua franca making it an international language that is important to every aspect of our lives. Oscar Larsson, a student at University of Glasgow, School of Political & Social Sciences, in his article “Is English really the international language?”, expands on Nesterenko’s ideas. In his article, he questions the power that English has in our society, and how it affects us. Larsson states “Indeed, in most European countries, English is a required subject in school, and it has also become the mandated language for communication among major companies and international institutions.” (Larsson, par. 2). Both authors stress how important English is for everyone, even those who don’t live in a country where English is the national language. I’ve lived in the United States my whole life, but I’ve been to Egypt multiple times and have seen how English affects nations with a different language as the national language. It’s in their educational systems, in their store signs, and even in their conversations. Dr. Durk Gorter furthers this idea. He’s an Ikerbasque Research Professor at the University of the Basque Country and wrote a book called “Linguistic Landscape: A New Approach to Multilingualism” that addresses how different languages in multilingual countries interact with each other. He conducted a study in two streets in cities where a minority language is spoken, Friesland in the Netherlands and Basque Country in Spain. The minority languages for each of these cities is Frisian and Basque, respectively, and the state languages are Dutch and Spanish, respectively. Gorter discovered that although English isn’t the state or minority language in either of the streets, it “is clearly the language of international communication and other ‘strong’ languages such as German and French are only marginally found in the data even though Germany is close to Ljouwert [street in Friesland] and France very close to Donostia [street in Basque Country].” (Gorter, 78). He studied the prevalence of languages in street signs and discovered that English is clearly an important part of the lives of the residents of Ljouwert and Donostia. Despite being neither the state nor minority language, or even being the state language of a nearby country, it is still prevalent in their signs and their lives. This aligns with my personal experiences in Egypt, where English is almost on every store sign, often larger than the actual Arabic name. Sometimes, the store wouldn’t even have the Arabic name, just the English one. One can argue that this is due to the previous influence that Britain had in Egypt, however Egypt has been independent long enough for Britain’s influence to fade away, and yet English is still spoken by almost every citizen in Egypt. English is also an important aspect of the educational systems in other countries. Dina Mehmedbegovic, lecturer at the Institute of Education at the University of London wrote a paper called “Engaging with Linguistic Diversity in Global Cities: Arguing for ‘Language Hierarchy Free’ Policy and Practice in Education.” She argues that more educational systems in the world need to offer more diverse opportunities for language. However, she acknowledges English’s prevalence in educational systems around the world. She cites an interview she conducted with students from her own study. “There are 76 languages spoken by children in my school and we operate English only rule on site. All these languages are invisible apart from Spanish and German as Modern Foreign Languages… I was ridiculed for learning Swahili, now it is needed by the government. You never know which language is going to be important next. (Data collected with PGCE students, Mehmedbegovic et al. 2015)” (Mehmedbegovic, 543). Mehmedbegovic discovered from her studies that in most nations, even European nations where English is already spoken frequently, the educational systems still focus on English. She argues that this is harmful, as it creates a “Language Hierarchy,” however I disagree. Studying English, although contributing to a less diverse society, allows for more unity, and gives those students an advantage when they enter the workforce because almost every large company requires its employees to speak English. Nesterenko even agrees that unification is necessary for our success as a society. She stats “Undoubtedly, our future is largely dependent on the ability of nations to communicate and correlate, which seems impossible without a language of international communication.” (Nesterenko, 602). English being taught across the globe not only contributes to the power of the language but is also required in order to be able to communicate with anyone in the world. People need to be able to understand each other when they come from different nations, and this is especially important in international politics.

English is incredibly important in international politics and affairs. Nearly every meeting or exchange is done in English all over the globe. For example, “international organizations consisting only of Arabic-speaking or Spanish-speaking countries issue final reports in English, even though it is not their working language.” (Nesterenko, 603). Although it would be easier and more convenient for these organizations to use their native working language, they publish reports in English, for the convenience of the world. Using translators is complicated and inefficient, and having everything written in a single language completely removes that step. In fact, English has become so widespread that it “is the main working language of major political organizations…as well as less important ones…” (Nesterenko, 603). This can be seen in the UN’s website, where English was named the official language in February 1946. Not only was it named the official language, but also the working language, meaning staff use it to communicate, not just publish reports and papers. It is evident how powerful English is in society, especially in our governments because of how often it is used in communications amongst nations. It’s difficult for us to perceive this, as we live in a nation where English is already your national language, however those living in other countries are well aware of the situation. For example, Nesterenko goes on to state that “Many countries in the world accepted English as an official second or major state language following the United Kingdom and later the United States as their political and cultural leaders.” (Nesterenko, 602). She continues to prove how this has been beneficial to those countries, as they are now stronger, more independent, and are in a higher position in the world hierarchy (Nesterenko, 602). Citizens of these nations can obviously see the impact of English on their countries and their governments because it has become one of their official languages, besides their native language. This isn’t a new principle, however. A lot of the power that English has over foreign nations today dates to the British Empire in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Larsson states that the reason for the widespread use of English is mostly due to the fact that “the language has thrived on so-called ‘cultural imperialism’ ever since the British Empire first set sail over 300 years ago.” (Larrson, par. 2). The British Empire had influence in several nations’ governments, and it is because of this that English has become so widespread, since the British Empire’s native language was English. This influence carried on to today’s modern and globalized society and has even increased because of the position that the UK now holds in the global hierarchy. But hierarchies don’t only exist for countries, they exist for businesses and companies as well.

In the world of trade and commerce, English has an even stronger foothold than in governments. Business is all about communication, and in order for an international business to become successful and compete, it needs to be able to communicate with any customer anywhere in the world. Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School, Tsedal Neeley in her article “Global Business Speaks English” argues that English is necessary for all successful businesses. She states that because of the need for a means of communication, several multinational companies have made English as the common corporate language, such as Airbus, Nokia, Renault, Samsung, and Microsoft. (Neeley, par. 1). This has contributed to their successes and allowed them to reach a wider range of consumers. One company, for example, is Rakuten. Neeley explains how this company proceeded to dominate the online market in Japan, all because of its unified language. (Neeley, par. 3-4). This movement towards a business model that is more convenient for international consumers is due to the consumers’ usage of English. According to Nesterenko, “three-quarters of the world’s mail is written in English, about 80 per cent of the world’s electronically stored information is in English.” (Nesterenko, 603). It’s all over the internet, and when a customer from France wants to buy a product from a company based in China, it is much easier when they can both easily find a fast way to communicate with each other. If the same scenario had occurred but without a unifying language, the French customer wouldn’t be able to purchase the item they want, and the Chinese company would lose potential profit, so having an international language is beneficial to both parties, which is why it’s so commonly used in international companies. It’s profitable for them and convenient for the consumers. This doesn’t apply to small businesses however, but from my experiences in Egypt, I’ve seen some businesses use English, and are therefore seen as more sophisticated and have better quality products than their competitors. This may not always be true, but seeing a restaurant with menus in English, for example, tends to appeal more to me than one that uses Arabic. It is for all of these reasons that English is so powerful in businesses and will continue to be as influential as it is for a very long time.

Some may argue that English isn’t as powerful as it seems. One main argument is that it isn’t the most spoken language in the world, Chinese is. (Larsson, par. 2). However, Chinese, Mandarin to be exact, is spoken almost exclusively in China, not many outside of the country speak it. English, on the other hand, is widespread as a second language. (Larsson, par. 2). This means that a significant population of the world learns English as their second language, which is even more evidence that it is the most powerful language. This is because everyone is learning it in order to compete with other students, employees, businesses, or even countries. Another argument is that English has a very informal nature to it, as opposed to other languages such as French. Robert Macneil, a retired journalist and news anchor, in his article “English Belongs to Everybody,” demonstrates how versatile and unregulated English is. He compares the English language to an overgrown garden and says that its “wild varieties continue to threaten the garden of cultivated English and, by their numbers, actually dominate everyday usage.” (Macneil, 195). Although English is very conversational and informal unlike most other languages and can be seen as unfit to be an international language, its versatility is exactly what makes it a perfect fit. It allows the language to conform to its speaker’s needs and make it easier to learn and use with others. This versatility makes it so useful in almost every situation, whether it’s a business transaction, a story to tell your friend, or even a job interview. It allows it to be manipulated to fit the Russian tongue or the German tongue, so that anyone in the world can use it. An international language needs to be versatile for all of these potential situations and is exactly why English is the perfect fit and therefore the most powerful language.

In conclusion, these are the reasons that English has become the most powerful language in the modern interconnected world. It dominates in several aspects of our society, whether that be our international political affairs or multinational business transactions. It exists in all our everyday lives, in our education systems, and even our store signs, no matter where we are in the world. This central language has been a major contribution to unifying us as a society and helping us break these barriers between nations. I’ve realized over the years what English really means for the world. It’s difficult for most of us to realize its widespread effects, especially when we live in America and speak English on a daily basis, however I’ve experienced its impact outside of our home. All dialects and accents of the English language contribute to this unified world that we live in today. Some may see the power of English as a potential harm to our society, taking away from our many diverse cultures and languages, however I see it as the most beneficial thing to our society, because it is one of the main reasons for our interconnected global community.

Works Cited

Gorter, Durk. “Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages.” Linguistic Landscape: a New Approach to Multilingualism, by Durk Gorter, Multilingual Matters, 2006, pp. 67–80.

Larsson, Oscar. “Is English really the international language?” Terminology Coordination Unit of EU, 19 May 2014, https://termcoord.eu/2014/05/english-really-international-language/

Macneil, Robert. “English Belongs to Everybody.” Wordstruck: a Memoir, by Robert MacNeil, Penguin Books, 1990, pp. 192–196.

Mehmedbegovic, Dina. “Engaging with Linguistic Diversity in Global Cities: Arguing for ‘Language Hierarchy Free’ Policy and Practice in Education.” De Gruyter, De Gruyter, 27 Nov. 2017, www.degruyter.com/view/journals/opli/3/1/article-p540.xml.

Neeley, Tsedal. “Global Business Speaks English.” Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 1 Aug. 2014, hbr.org/2012/05/global-business-speaks-english.

Nesterenko, Veronica S., et al. “Global Language: Will the Sun Ever Set on the Empire of the English Language?” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 27 Sept. 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815046923?via=ihub.

“What Are the Official Languages of the United Nations? – Ask DAG!” United Nations, United Nations, 14 Oct. 2019, ask.un.org/faq/14463.