Power Of English Language Essay

977 Words4 Pages

Language is human’s primary source of communication, and throughout history mankind has developed over 6000 languages. However, in this moment I am writing and you are reading in English. Certainly, it would be compatible if I was born in an English speaking country, yet I am not. Many of us are from countries that do not have English as their primary language. Nonetheless, why is it that not only me but the majority of the individuals in this world understands and speaks English? How did this “single” language come to such authoritative power? To find out I have arranged an interview with the well-known British linguist, author and lecturer David Crystal. With “A little book of language” alongside 100 other books to his name, we will try to find out more about how and why the English language is the number one Lingua franca.

The interview commences with a pleasant mood inside a …show more content…

E.g. Fela Kuti, a Nigerian artist and activist used pidgin English to express his own identity.

Is this the reason why English is such an authoritative language?
According to Crystal it is indisputable. However, this was not the only element that made English so influential. “Other stages of global spread of the English language included; political and economic power, media coverage alongside globalization.”
He notes that; during the process of the British Empire’s prevalence, they conjointly harvested political and economic power. The primary priority in schools became tuition of the English language, because financial and academic success were closely linked to one’s ability in English. The language thereupon received a privileged and successful denotation. Thereafter, the US “empire” started. After becoming an independent state, they gradually grew to become the economic superpower. Additionally, a lot of immigrants migrated to the US and English as a lingua franca

Open Document