Yumi Liu - Week 9: Why Speak English?
Why do many parts of the world speak English? Why do many countries aside from roman language speaking countries teach English at school? There are 6,500 spoken languages, but why is English the third most spoken language around the world?
First,
English is taught worldwide. “According to the British Council, by 2020 about two billion people in the world will be studying English.”
English is the language people commonly use for international communication. People often learn English because of how widely spoken it is. This allows for people of different countries to easily communicate because of prior knowledge of the English language. Which means that if you ever want to ask for directions in a foreign country, English is the best bet. Traveling services such as airports, trains, and streets in foreign countries often are able to translate to English, making it easier for those that speak English to travel internationally.
In some countries (that do not speak English), fluency in English leads to better job prospects and salaries. Although speaking English in America is most likely a requirement for jobs, it is the same for us in the aspects that people with fluency in other languages are able to make more money.
Scientific research papers and diplomacy are commonly in English as well, meaning that people learn English to be able to understand, and access those academic papers along with making international connections. In certain countries, English is a symbol of power and social status because it indicates that they are able to access education as well as they are able to speak with people in power (people in power are commonly seen as English speakers).
Hi Yumi, Do you know what the map above also looks like, I am pretty sure this is an area of land colonized by the marvelous British Empire. I have a hypothesis which may or not be true, the inflicted land that was colonized probably left British culture on to society, for many generations the people at the top were exclusively British. Even as time went on, the people in power generally stayed close to British culture and English being their language became the language of the rich and powerful. For example, in India, the people who can speak English get better opportunities and are generally higher in society, and eventually speaking English has been correlated to being in Power.
ReplyDeleteHi Yumi! I really like your observation about the power that English holds on an international scale; you’re completely right about how being able to speak English can severely boost a person’s job prospects and social status.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a darker side to English’s overwhelming influence on the power that people have—colonialism and imperialism are the backbone of English’s prominence. The entire reason for imperialism is rooted in nationalism and the idea that one culture, one lifestyle, and one language is ideal and should be enforced upon the territories that an imperialist state holds. There’s a key difference in spreading or introducing culture versus enforcing it; the violent manner in which the British Empire gained influence on over twenty-five percent of the world cannot be understated. This idea still trickles down into the modern day; those who can’t speak English in English speaking countries, or those who come from non-English speaking countries are heavily discriminated against; it seems impossible to satisfy the expectations of xenophobes when it comes to speaking English, even in this day and age.
Hi Yumi! It’s interesting how language is so intertwined with power, as you proved with your paragraphs about its presence in worldwide education, communication, job opportunities, and social status. I wish you delved more into the history behind English’s international popularity—maybe examining how wealthy, technologically advanced European countries (like England!) gained power centuries ago and used that influence to expand their empire. There was a saying that went, “The sun never sets on the British Empire,” demonstrating how the empire covered so much land that it would be daytime in at least one of its territories. Additionally, America’s emergence as a global superpower in the wake of World War II allowed it to gain more land and also spread English across the world.
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