Disadvantages Of Lingua Franca

The English language is widely spoken all over the world, which also known as World Englishes or Global Englishes. Over the past decades it has become the world’s primary lingua franca to an extent that is and has been unprecedented among the others (Global Englishes, 2015, p. 41). Lingua Franca serves the purpose of providing a means of communication among people who do not share a common first language. According to Seidlhofer’s definition, ELF (English Lingua Franca) is “any use of English among speakers of different first languages for who English is the communicative medium of choice, and often the only option” (Global Englishes, 2015, p. 44). In recent years, English as a lingua franca has seen lots of developments, massive number of

Out of which, there are two main types that other countries look up to as they are considered the standard type of English. They are the American English and British English. American English is the type of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used within the United States of America (USA). British English is the type of English used in the United Kingdom (UK) and it includes all English dialects used within United Kingdom. The English language was first brought into America during British colonization in the early 17th century. Ever since, American English have been evolving. It was also the first major variety of the language that developed outside of Britain. Over the years, English spoken in the United States and in Britain started diverging from each other in various aspects. Britain had been the greatest political, economic and industrial power in the world. By early 20th centuries, America emerged as an economic and political global force. At this time, countries came in together for international organizations and English was chosen as the language of communications as running multilingual operations would be expensive. Then the League of Nations was created and was replaced by United Nations which was in New York. Therefore, the world’s language focus was shifted to the United

English without doubt is the main language for world media. Countries in the Expanding circle consist of people who do not speak English as a first or second language but for other reasons such as entertainment etc. English is the main language for popular music such as hip hop (Global Englishes, 2015, p. 44). Elvis Presley in USA dominated the recording world. No other single source has spread English round the world so rapidly. Music from American musicians and bands are frequently broadcast around the world such as western, rock & roll, hip-hop & rap, rhythm &blues. Knowing English would also make sure people understand the meaning of its lyrics and cultural reference in the songs. Satellite channels around the world telecast news and views in English. Games and sports are telecasted in English and commentaries are also being broadcasted in English. Film industry was developed in other countries but English was the dominant medium. Many of the world’s top films were produced in English. The main studio, Hollywood, is in an English spoken area. Therefore by learning English, people would have access to a great wealth of entertainment. Computer revolution began in the 1990s and it was due to American technology. Thus, the language of computer is English. The content available in the internet is in English. Knowing English would access individuals to a great amount of