English as a dominant language 796 words essay example. Oct 01, 2017 viking influence on the english language. Since they spend most of their times in school, the dominant culture which is english takes its course and subdue the traditional culture. Computing uses english as does the international airtraffic control. English is either an o fficial or coofficia l language. The first task in nlp is detecting the language of an utterance or written text as algorithms for text and word segmentation, and pos tagging are language specific. Although american english has been the dominant partner, the british council was set up after 1945 to promote the english language and british culture. Ironically, it is also nigerias dominant language, with the use of english being taught at various levels of the nigerian educational system prenursery schools, nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools. English has expanded through the imperialist and linguicist policies of the uk, the usa and the world bank. See dominant in the oxford advanced american dictionary see dominant in the oxford learners dictionary of academic english.
When the oakland, california board of education passed a resolution in december of 1996 recognizing ebonics as the dominant language spoken by many students in that district, nearly everyone in the unites states, both in and out of education, had strong opinions about it. These factors by the british empire has made english to become the sole dominant language, being an official language in over 75 territories that have a combined population of over 2. At the macro level, the power behind language is the collective power ethnolinguistic vitality of the communities that speak the language. How english came to be the dominant language in science. Ironically, it is also nigerias dominant language, with the use of english being taught at various levels of the nigerian educational system prenursery schools, nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions of learning. English is an international language, spoken in many countries both as a native and as a second or foreign language. For most people, their first language is also their primary language, but a lot of people have english as a primary language due to the fact that it is a global lingua franca. There is the closest of links between language dominance and economic. This is not to be confused with english as a second language also called english as an additional language which is the practice of learning english in a predominantly englishspeaking. It approaches the study of language in society in its broadest sense, as a truly international and. Despite the high placing of english, around 75% of the worlds population doesnt speak a word of the language, so it might seem surprising that, as illustrated in this infographic and based on this data, more than half of all content on the internet is in english. Even though some nations which were ruled by the french continue to teach french as their most preferred second language, english is gaining ground even in these countries. Indeed, native speakers of english are outnumbered more than 2to1 by nonnative speakers of the language. Why are more african countries adopting english as an.
These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. It is the most widely studied language in the world. Few topics in language are fraught with as much controversy as black english. English is the dominant international language of the 21st century. Language change1 raymond hickey essen university introduction it is an obvious truism to say that, given the dynamic nature of language, change is ever present. English dominance and its influence on international communication. Contributions to the sociology of language brings to students, researchers and practitioners in all of the social and language related sciences carefully selected booklength publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings and applications. The transfer is considered to be a demonstration of power. The global dominance of the english language in higher education is not a new subject. There are more than 7,100 languages in use around the world, with chinese, spanish and english being the most widely spoken.
If black english isnt a language, then tell me, what is. English is also the dominant language of some of the worlds major immigrantreceiving countries, which include. He goes on to argue that it is important to understand the relationship between the english language. David crystal, world authority on the english language, presents a lively and factual. Mother tongue, first language, native language or dominant. Language policy, ideology, and attitudes in englishdominant countries abstract and keywords many subfields within sociolinguistics have been influenced by developments in linguistics and social theory over the past half century. It originated in england and is the dominant language of the u. Writing this essay in english is not by happenstance, rather it is the result of a set of historic and social elements. French used to be the language of diplomacy and the preferred language of. English is an indoeuropean language and belongs to the west germanic group of the germanic languages.
The american empire has also played a major role when it comes to the propulsion of english as the dominant language in the world. English as a global language and the effects on culture. The dominance of english as a global language and international lingua franca, for example, has less to do with its linguistic quality and more to do with the ethnolinguistic vitality of english speakers. Language and power oxford research encyclopedia of. The dominant language used in schools is english, and students only use their traditional language when they get back home. Pdf this statement is an opening point for the discussion on the effects of the dominance of english as a language of science on other languages and. Other dominant languages spoken within the country are shona and ndebele. English has been the dominant global language since the nineteenth century. A comparison between english language learners and english dominant speakers jessica jiwou lim master of arts department of curriculum, teaching and learning university of toronto 2016 abstract this thesis investigates how english language learners ells use the discourse marker so, in comparison to canadian english. The benefits from english include easy and quick access to the academic sources i mentioned earlier and a wider international audience. The cradle tongue being the language we learn during early childhood and the native tongue may be different, possibly determined by an inherited linguistic taste, and may later in life be discovered by a strong emotional affinity to a specific dialect tolkien confessed to such an affinity to the middle english of the west midlands in. Pdf measuring language dominance in spanishenglish. It now belongs to the world and increasingly to nonnative speakers who today far outnumber native speakers. A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey.
A global language acts as a lingua franca, a common language that enables people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities to communicate on a more or less equitable basis. America, britain, and other englishspeaking countries vigorously promote the. A recent study found that the queens english the language as spoken. Aspects of the dominant culture are usually transferred along with the. The value of language skills ago or so, french was a dominant international language, but its reach has declined substantially. The chapter analyses how english became dominant and the implications of the expansion of dominant languages for the linguistic and cultural ecology and biodiversity. English as a global language and the effects on culture and identity. Dominant language takeover, threatened minority language takeup article pdf available in bilingualism. The language of globalization in china and the european union anne johnson i.
Language advantages can be used to spread values, pursue national interests. Will chinese replace english as the global language. English is the most widely used language internationally in the domains of politics, business, science and cultural exchange. Seen in its simplest terms, language imperialism involves the transfer of a dominant language to other peoples. Dominant language an overview sciencedirect topics. Mar 26, 2017 the number of english speakers around the world has been on the rise for many years, with the current number approaching 2 billion, according to some estimates. Learn the translation for dominant in leo s english. Pdf english as the dominant language in the uk raul.
Language learning policy thru the lens of language as a problem, as a right, and as a resource our current national trend supports a monolingual and forced assimilation society. However, language change as a concept and as a subject of linguistic investigation is often regarded as something separate from the study of language in general. Effective reading programs for spanish dominant english language learners ells in the elementary grades. How english came to be the dominant language in science publications new research suggests that scientific publications may be overlooked in non english speaking countries. Another billion of people are in the process to learn it. Importance of english learn to speak english powerfully. English, language dominance, and ecolinguistic diversity. The role of english as a lingua franca in academia. More this paper has been submitted by user harvey cole who studied at the university of maryland, baltimore county, usa, with average gpa 3.
In view of the prestige of the dominant power and its. The history of english english as a global language. The government of pakistan had tried to impose urdu as the sole national language. Effective reading programs for spanish dominant english. This language transfer comes about because of imperialism. Even when there are bilingual programs in place, the outcomes are generally transitional by moving students towards assimilating into the dominant society ochoa, 1995. Martinez says that english is seen as a more neutral language than chinese. English has become the dominant language of science, with an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of papers in scientific journals written in english, notes scott montgomery in a separate paper in. Linguicism is a bias against or discrimination of a person based on their language or language skills. A billion are learning it, about a third of the worlds population. Is english still the dominant language of higher education. English is dominant in a way that no language has ever been before, he said. Urdu was, and is, the dominant language of west pakistan, but in the eastern part, the great majority had bengali as their mother tongue.
Across cultures, english is the word the new york times. Mar 26, 2020 english as a foreign language efl is the term used to describe the study of english by nonnative speakers in countries where english is not the dominant language. Linguistic imperialism or language imperialism is occasionally defined as the transfer of a dominant language to other people. Imagine, for example, a chinese speaker who speaks no french. May 23, 2018 english is the worlds favourite lingua franca the language people are most likely to turn to when they dont share a first language. English language learner means and adult that has limited ability in reading, writing, speaking, or comprehending the english language, and whose native language is a language other than english. The fact that english now belongs to everyone or to noone wardhaugh, 1987 would seem to imply that english will maintain its position as the global dominant language throughout the 21st century and beyond. On a related note, though english is the dominant language for authoring web pages, this situation is changing as more and more web pages are being created in other languages. Some french people for example, resent the increasing importance of english in the european community. It is taught in the schools in almost every country on this earth. English will remain the international language the linguist. As a result of british imperialism, the language was spread to every region of the world. English as a global language and the effects on culture and.
A second language is one that comes after ones primary language. English is the chief foreign language taught in the schools of europe, south america, asia and africa. It is spoken by a quarter of the worlds population, enabling a true single market in knowledge and ideas. Historically, the essential factor for the establishment of a global language is that it. The term english as a lingua franca elf refers to the teaching, learning, and use of the english language as a common means of communication or contact language for speakers of different native languages. Positive and negative aspects of the dominance of english jstor.
English as a foreign language efl is the term used to describe the study of english by nonnative speakers in countries where english is not the dominant language. With the technological advancement, english still remain the dominant language of communication for many people. English has been majorly associated with the western nations such as us, canada, or the uk. Old english originated from a germanic tribal and linguistic continuum along the frisian north sea coast, whose languages gradually evolved into the anglic languages in the british isles, and into the frisian languages and low germanlow saxon on the continent. The english language plays a dominant role, one could even. There has been extensive research into its effects on recruitment both of staff and students, teaching and. The dominant position of english as an international language seems to create controversy in certain circles. This is not to be confused with english as a second languagealso called english as an additional languagewhich is the practice of learning english in a predominantly englishspeaking country. Jan 08, 2017 how english came to be the dominant language in science publications new research suggests that scientific publications may be overlooked in non english speaking countries. Therefore, attaining proficiency in english gives someone the perfect opportunity to understand the modern society. English is the worlds favourite lingua franca the language people are most likely to turn to when they dont share a first language. Since then, every so often there is a debate in the academic community, the media and in politics on the increasing dominance of english in dutch higher education, its commercial motives, its lack of quality, and the fear of loss of dutch language and culture as a result. As english plays a dominant role in almost all the fields in the present globalized world, there is a need to discuss its role as a global language.
English language, a west germanic language of the indoeuropean language family that is closely related to frisian, german, and dutch languages. In the philippines, english is an official language. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the reasons as to why english was eventually stablished as the main language of england. Although most contemporary linguists regard english as a lingua franca elf. In the former soviet union, russian was the dominant language. Anyway, your first language is the language you grew up around. The fall of language in the age of english columbia. It is a living and vibrant language spoken by over 300 million people as their native language. Why english as the universal language of science is a.
Aninterna tionally renowned writer, journal editor, lecturer and broadcaster, he. For example, if tested at 60% usage of english, children would appear to be english dominant if given a semantics test but spanish dominant if given a morphosyntax test. English as a global language with millions of popular intuitions at a level which had simply not existed a decade before. Language, culture, and the dominance of english macmillan. And most of the dominant english language countries internally also have a tradition of freedom of speech.
Paper prepared for the nas committee on developmental outcomes and assessments for young children by linda m. This was not, merely, as in the european example, the adoption of a foreign tongue, but an alchemy that transformed ancient elements into a new language. English helps make my work known to other scholars and researchers with whom i do not share a language other than english. Sean perera, a researcher in science communication from the australian national university, described the current situation this way.
Of course english is a global language,they would say. By the 1990s the council had some 120,000 students learning english through its offices abroad and some 400,000 candidates for its english exams. Apr 25, 2017 because of its longstanding status as a british colony, english became the primary language of the government and the public education system in zimbabwe. However, in the wor ld today, about nine tenths of th e speakers of en glish are not nati ve speakers, an d thus, feel no cultural a. Using ebonics or black english as a bridge to teaching. The other side is the need for identity and people tend to underestimate the role of identity when they express anxieties about language injury and death. English as a global language, second edition institute for cultural. Some 380 million people speak it as their first language and perhaps twothirds as many again as their second. History and importance of english language in nigeria. The increasing dominance of english the world view. Language policy, ideology, and attitudes in englishdominant. This essay on english as a dominant langu age was written and submitted by your fellow student.
The diverse linguistic backgrounds of filipinos create a challenge for both english teachers and learners of english as an additional language. English as a world language in academic writing the reading. These scholars strongly believed that the dominant and powerful of english use in the global community has destroyed and killed most of the. The transfer is essentially a demonstration of powertraditionally military power but also in the modern world economic powerand aspects of the dominant culture are usually transferred along with the language. English became an official language after the 1994 genocide, but more extensive language policy changes occurred in 2008, when the government created plans to present english as an official language of instruction in rwandas public schools, replacing french as the dominant second. English has become a global language with over 380 million people speaking it as their first language and over 200 million people taking it as their second language.
Key structural and ideological parameters are identified. With nounverb tables for the different cases and tenses links to audio pronunciation and relevant forum discussions free vocabulary trainer. The fall of language in the age of english provocatively participates in current debates on world literature, translation, reading, and writing in the age of global english and the internet, bringing forward a new and illuminating perspective on the translingual formation of national languages and the now endangered arc of modern literature. The fact that so many people now use english as either a first or second language indicates that english is likely to remain a globally dominant language for many years to come. Yet, most filipinos learn english as an additional language because they have various mother tongues. This is not to be confused with english as a second language also called english as an additional language which is the practice of learning english in a predominantly english speaking country. Section 14 serving adult english language learners ells.