English, a global language

(Lehigh University Website)

Introduction

English is the most common language of the world. It can be found in over 90 percent of the continent and this has led to globalization.

St-Hilaire (2011) suggested that globalization not only affects individual language choice, it also affects language planning deliberations. Countries are having to change their systems to use English as a language of choice to keep up with globalization. You will find Italian to English, Spanish to English or Japanese to English dictionaries.

This paper is written to try and find out how English has been a contributing factor to globalization.

History of English

The English language was first used when three German tribes invaded Britain in 5th Century A.D (englishclub.com). They spoke a cluster of dialects within the German branch of the Indo-European family and they developed it to Old English or Anglo-Saxon, and they covered most of Modern England (Kemmer 2005).

At the time of the invasion, the British were speaking a Celtic language, but the Celtic-speakers were pushed to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The invaders moved to Englaland (which became England), and spoke Englisc, which was changed to English (englishclub.com). English developed along the years borrowing vocabulary from the French, effect of the industrial revolution and advancement of the British Empire (englishclub.com).

English became divided into different kind of varieties because of pronunciation and created words, especially in America (englishclub.com). There is Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Pidgin English (Nigeria), Indian English and Caribbean English (englishclub.com).

Old English

This occurred in 450-1100 AD, when the German invaders arrived in Britain and developed old English. It sounds different from today’s English which is full of new words and pronunciations. However over 50 percent of Old English is still used today. However, this English lasted up to 1100 (englishclub.com).

This English died because Latin, Old Norse (the language of the Vikings) and the Anglo-Norman French who became the dominant class after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Middle English

This only existed around 1100 to 1500 A.D. In 1066, William the Conqueror brought French to Britain, and this became the language of the Royal court, the ruling and the business class, while English was left to the lower classes. In the 14th century English was mixed with French and therefore the reason why it was called Middle English then (englishclub.com).

The following is an extract of Middle English by a poet called Chaucer,

Modern English

Early Modern English

This type of English was spoken from 1500 to 1800. The pronunciation in the language started changing and the vowels became smaller and smaller with time after the end of the Middle English. This was because of the numerous contacts the British people had met. It was also during the Renaissance of classical learning whereby new words and phrases were being made. The invention of printing had enabled people to access books, learn about the language and in 1604 the first dictionary was published (englishclub.com).

Late Modern English

This came into being in 1800 and is still existing to date. The only difference between it and the Early Modern English is vocabulary. It grew out of 4 factors (englishclub.com)
1. During the Industrial Revolution era there was a need to create new words for communication. The British had to give names to their machines and describe their processes in a language that could be understood by all.
2. This was also the time the Bible had been translated from Latin to English and the missionaries had spread across the world to spread the Gospel.
3.The British Empire was spreading across the world and had been able to cover a quarter of the earth’s surface. This was the time of the scramble and partition of Africa where Britain had got the lion’s share in the number of colonies.
4.This English also developed from borrowing and adopting foreign words from different countries.

Today English is spread all over the world. It is hard to travel and miss one or two words in English, even in the most remote parts of the world. During the colonial period is when English spread across the world and became a global language.

English as a global language

The English language can be divided into three circles (Crystal, 2003):
The Inner Circle-this is English found in places where English is the primary language, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Outer or Extended Circle-this is found in places where English plays an important ‘second language’ role. It is found in Singapore, Kenya, India, Malawi and over 50 other territories. 
The Expanding or Extending Circle-this is found in nations which were not colonized or give English major importance, but recognize it as a global language. It is found in China, Japan, Greece, and Poland, to them English is taught as a foreign language.

English has advanced in Africa and other countries because of a number of influences such as colonialism. The following are examples of countries given by Crystal (2003) and how English has influenced them:
1) Kenya; this country was colonized by the British empire in the 1920s, and later became independent in 1963. At the time there were numerous tribes with their own language, but the colonial masters made English the official language of communication. It is still being used today mostly in institutions of learning, media and day to day occurrences. Kiswahili was later accepted as an official language in 1974.
2) Botswana; it was colonized in 1885 by the British Empire, and English is its official language till today.
3) Lesotho; it was colonized in 1869 by the British Empire, and became independent in 1960. English replaced the indigenous languages as the official language.
4) Namibia; It was a German protectorate in 1884. They gain official independence in 1990, and despite being a German colony, they use English as their official language.
5) Hong Kong; Chinese is the official language but English finds precedence in educational matters, that is, it is taught as a foreign language.

Why is English an issue in globalization and global communication?

It is easy for people to say that English is a global language because of the fact that it is used in many symbols in the world, television programs and series, politics, international conferences, signs and advertisements, and international restaurants menus (Crystal, 2012). This may not be the case since English achieves a global status because of the roles it plays and gets recognized in every country, these are
1)  English being a primary language of instruction and used in important areas such as politics, and economy (Crystal, 2012). In Kenya we use English in our everyday aspect of life. In the rural areas they are translated to enable the inhabitants to understand.
2) Schools are now teaching English as a foreign language, and children are getting to learn, understand and assimilate into English

The reason English is becoming a global language is because of the people who speak it, not the number of people in the world who know it (Crystal, 2012). The United States of America is considered the prefect of the world and the main protagonist of the world, and it is because of cultural imperialism they have been able to make a huge impact and impression on the world. This adds on to the reason why people want to learn English, to become like America.

The need for a global language is to help manage international relations, ease communication and relieve tensions between different countries (Crystal, 2012). Some countries are always in constant turmoil because they do not understand each other or they do not communicate with each other because of language barrier. The early missionaries, trained their followers English first before spreading the gospel to the world.

It is said that Africa’s stories are written in the eyes of a third party. Jomo Kenyatta’s story Facing Mount Kenya was written and edited in English. He was writing about the history, the heritage, and an anthropological study about people of the Kikuyu ethnicity in Kenya. Why was it he chose English, instead of writing it in Agikuyu? He was the source of the whole information and he wrote it to challenge the ‘white man’s view’ of history yet he chose to write in the white man’s language (Gerard, 1986).

This just builds on how English is instrumental to globalization. He most likely chose to write English because of the influence of Malinowski (who wrote the foreword of the book), but also English was a common language and he wanted not only the white man to read, but also his fellow Africans who spoke other languages. The book is still popular today, 40 years later.

Whenever you use the internet today you will most likely find most websites are in English; most books used today are in English; most universities in Kenya use English as their primary language of instruction; other countries such as China and Japan are teaching English as a foreign language because they now understand its importance as an international language; in most world summits, most leaders try to use English to communicate their grievances to the world, even if they use a different language it will still be translated to English to reach other countries who may not have understood their language.

Tam and Weiss (2004) found out that globalization has given English its power as a mediating agent in global cultural forms. This is what has come to be known as Englishization and has taken place in Asia for two centuries now (Tam and Weiss, 2004).

Tam and Weiss (2004) further added that English has become a medium of globalization. Hong Kong and mainland China have realized the growing recognition of the important cultural and economic roles non Western Englishes play in the new world order of globalization.

In South Korea there is the English Program in Korea (EPIK) which is a response to the globalization process to accommodate external demands and strategically pursue national interest through equipping its citizens with the command of English and proving its image in the world (Vaish, 2010). EPIK was established in 1995 by the Korean Ministry of Education to improve the English speaking abilities of students and teachers in Korea and reform the teaching methodologies in English (Vaish, 2010). This compliments the fact that English is important in globalization.

English has been an international language since colonization, and has become a major contributor to globalization because it is a language used in government, law, business, and education in many countries (Tam and Weiss, 2004). English is an important aspect of globalization and its contribution cannot be underestimated. British and English have become the epitome of globalization (Tam and Weiss, 2004).

Kraidy (2013) observed that Spanish speakers in the United States are flashed with message that require and demand linguistic assimilation and accept that Spanish is a foreign language. Moreover, 28 state in the United States of America have English-only policies and require anyone visiting the country to learn and assimilate English as their language of choice (Kraidy, 2013). This would force people to disregard their language for the superior English, and thus contributing to English growth as a global language.

The influence of English across the world can be described as cultural imperialism because the Hispanic, Puerto Ricans and other foreigners are forced to language that is not their own to fit into the American system. Cultural imperialism in media studies focuses on communication and media entertainment as an instrument of one nation-state’s economic, geopolitical, and cultural power over others” (Mirrlees, 2013). The foreigners in America do not take English as a language, but they use it in business, politics and in interaction with the natives. Most international news agency such as CNN, AL Jazeera and BBC use English to report happenings around the world. Other stations such as France 24 and CCTV have had to have English channels to cater for the global environment.

In the internet and technological era when you use the Google translator tool you can translate any language because it enhances the automatic translation by comparing the text to manual translations. This happens because Google has access to huge archives of text in many languages (Olsen, 2013). This also occurs with most common search engines such as Ask.com and Bing.com. Most translations are from a certain language to English, further elaborating on how English contributes to globalization. As mentioned earlier there are the Italian to English or Spanish to English dictionaries commonly used to help foreigners learn and communicate in English when traveling to the United States or Britain.

The Limitations of English as a global language

It does not mean that with English as a global language there will be no resistance, here a reason why;        
i. If the world has one global language there is a possibility people will become complacent and avoid other languages (Crystal, 2012). In France, the French are struggling to keep their language alive and compete with English. In Kenya, most youth nowadays do not have a clue about their mother tongue because they have interacted with English more. Other countries are replacing their language for English while others teach it to keep up with international development. 
ii.Language power. People might think that since English is rising as a global language it will have power and dominion over their local languages (Crystal, 2012). Countries such as China are avoiding English and English based systems such as Google for the fear they may lose their language and culture. They are not refusing globalization, but they do not want to lose their identity. Same goes for Germany, Netherlands and Russia. They only learn English for international business, not as a requirement.    
iii.Having one language across the world does not mean everything will be well, there will be harmony and mutual understanding (Crystal, 2012). Having a global language may cause conflict because the native speakers may disappear and have no accreditation to the language and it may also spun international terrorism.

Linguistic Death

This would be a danger of having English as a global language since this is the disappearance of languages for a more dominant one. Crystal (2012) suggested that the processes of language domination and loss have been known throughout linguistic history, and exist independently of the emergence of a global language. The death of languages can be attributed to ethnic groups coming to be assimilated within a more dominant society and adopting its language (Crystal, 2012).

At least 50 percent of the world’s 6,000 or so living languages will die out within the next century (Crystal, 2012).

Languages which have not been written down are at the risk of being lost, the problem is that they are stored in form or oral literature such as folktales, songs, rituals and proverbs, which are no longer reliable in the modern world (Crystal, 2012).

English and religion

English was the common lingua franca when the missionaries spread out to the world to spread the gospel. German missionaries were also forced to use English as the language of instruction because it was common and the bible was written in English only, as it had not yet been translated (Jensz, 2010).

The bible was translated from Latin-Vulgate to old English by select scholars and monks and there are over 450 translations worldwide (Wikipedia). Over time languages such as Kikuyu, Luo, German, Chinese and Spanish have translated and written their bible from English literature. This further expound English’s contribution to the growth of religion.

In the modern world most sermons are preached in English; when you google a verse in the Bible it is in English. English is the major benefactor and contributor to the growth of religion.

Conclusion

English is the language of globalization. Numerous countries are spending millions of shillings to make policies to learn English and use it to build global policies. It started in Britain and has spread like wild fire across the world. If someone does not know English, they are likely to be left out as the world becomes a global village.

English is a global language because of the influence of the people who speak it not necessarily the number and they may be in danger because other countries are using English and forming their words to suit their needs.

English has brought a lot of development in international relations and can be used as a mediatory language to ease tensions.

Everyone today is trying to learn English, even the Chinese have seen its importance and that is why, English could be the language of the world.

References

Crystal, D. (2012). English as a global language (2^nd ed.). United States of America: Cambridge  University Press.

Gerard, S. A. (1986). (Ed.). European language writing in Sub-Saharan Africa (Vol. 2). The         United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Jensz, F. (2010). German Moravian Missionaries in the British Colony of Victoria Australia, 1848-1908: Influential strangers. Danvers, U.S.A: Brill.

Kraidy, M. M. (2013) (Ed.). Communication and power in the global era: orders and borders.      New York, U.S.A: Routledge.

Laitman, M. (2011). Self Interest vs altruism in the global era: how society can turn self-interests    into mutual benefits. Canada: Laitman Kabbalah Publishers.

Olsen, K. A, (2013). How information technology is conquering the world: workplace, private life, and society. Thornbury Road, Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press, Inc.

St-Hilaire, A. (2011). Kweyol in postcolonial Saint Lucia: Globalization, Language Planning, and National Development. Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Tam, K. & Weiss, T. (2004) (Eds.). English and Globalization: Perspectives from Hong Kong and Mainland China. Hong Kong, China: The Chinese University Press.

Vaish, V. (2010) (Ed.).   Globalization of language and culture in Asia: The impact of globalization processes on language. New York, U.S.A: Continuum International Publishing Group.

English Club (2014). Retrieved from https://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm

Kemmer, S. (2005). A brief history of English, with chronology. Retrieved from            http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words04/history/

Wikipedia, Bible translations into English. Retrieved from            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations_into_English