English Has Become A Global Language

There are numerous different languages being used throughout the world. Since there are too many different languages, a global language is produced. A language can achieve this status only when it is important to world activities such as communication between countries, trading between different countries across the world and culture. It plays an important role and it is recognized by every country (Crystal, 2003). Crystal (2003) reports that English has already reached this stage and nearly a quarter of the world’s population, around 1.2 to 1.5 billion people, already know and use English. Nowadays, English is the most widely spoken language in the world. English has become a global language not because it is easy to learn or is superior to other languages but because it has a strong power base. This essay will first look at what a global language is and what makes a language global then why English has become a global language.

Global language means a language which is used around the world and which is important to the world operation and influencing the domains of human activity in the world. For example, a global language is usually used to write songs, for trading throughout the world and communication between countries.

A language has two mains ways to become global. It can be an official language and second language of foreign countries. Official language means a language which is used as the medium of communication, such as media, the domains as government and the education system (Crystal, 2003). It can also be the first language of numerous countries. Crystal (2003) claims that a language can have a global status when it is used by other countries around the world. A second language means a language taught in school which has no official status. A mother-tongue language becomes the foreign language and the official language is the step to make the language become global since a language cannot have a global status when it is not taken by other countries.

English has become an international language not because it is easy to learn. There is no language that is easy to learn; the difficulty of a language depends on the learner and Lutz (2010) points out that it depends on which level the learner wants to achieve, the higher the level, the more difficult. Ellis (1985) says that age, aptitude, cognitive style, motivation and personalities are the five main aspects which separate individual learner differences in a different level. Ellis (1985) reports that aptitude is a main factor in dividing the language learner to different levels. If a learner has a good aptitude and an effective way to study a second language, the language will become easier. Learner motivation is an important factor in second language success. A learner can likely be successful in learning a second language when the motivation is high. Crystal (2003) reports that the intrinsic structural properties, the size of its vocabulary or whether it has been a vehicle of a great literature in the past or was once associated with a great culture or religion may be the motivation of some learners to learn a language but not the reasons to make the language become global.

English has become an international language not because it is superior to other languages. Crystal (2003) says that there are many people who claim that a language can become global because of its beauty, clear expression or religious standing but these are misleading beliefs. There are some properties of English which helped it become globally appealing but the characteristics of the language are not the main reason to learn but the relative importance between the language characteristics and the international value. This makes a language more appealing but not superior to other languages. English may be more appealing than other languages but not superior.

English became a world language mainly because of strong military power and economic power. Crystal (2003) shows that a language cannot become global without strong power-bases, such as political power, military power and economic power. The military power is the main reason to make a language become a global language. When a country has a strong military power, the others need to listen to the language spoken by the people of that country. Prior to World War 2, Britain set up a lot of colonies. English became the official language and foreign language of the colonies. It is very important to be the official language and foreign language of the colonies because it is an important step to make a language become global.

English must be taken by others countries to become global because a language cannot become global when it is only used by the countries where English is the mother-tongue. So English becoming the official language and foreign language of the colonies is the basis of English becoming a global language. An economic power is still needed to maintain and expand the status of the language. At the start of the 20th century, the economy started to grow and develop around the world and many new markets were born. There were many new inventions. Communication between countries is needed to develop the economy and market. If a country has a strong economic power, the first language of that country will become more important and it can maintain it longer and expand it through the economy. Crystal (2003) claims that Britain had become the world’s foremost industrial and trading country at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The economic growth of the English is the fastest in the world. They built the foundation of English in the world through the colonies and the economy. These are the two main reasons to give English a global status.

In conclusion, English has become an international language not because it is easy to learn or because it is superior to other languages but because of the military and economic power of the countries where English is spoken. “And English was in the right place at the right time.” (Crystal, 2003:7-10)