The Importance of the English Language

Brazer Bozlak
03113623
2011-07-20
LA 202 – OL8

The importance of the English language The English language is finally accepted as the universal language of the world and stands today as the common means of communication among members of different countries, cultures and communities. Moreover, English is also the international language of diplomacy, business, science, technology, banking, computing, medicines, engineering, tourism etc. It is understood and spoken almost everywhere in the world and it has become the key instrument of globalization. The English language is the common global language and it is very clear in many cultures that English has become more dominant around the world, a dominance that is growing for each passing day. As a result, English is widely taught around the world as a second language today, the amount of native English speakers might not be large when compared to Spanish or Chinese, but it is the common communication language spoken around the world and almost every single university in the world are conducting scientific studies trough English medium.
Although, there is a lot of people around the world today that won’t admit how important English for the world I’m one of those many that understands the importance of the English language.

Most people in the world agrees with what Alexander v. Sandoval claims in his essay “The importance of English” on www.eagleforum.com , “English is becoming the worlds language of the 21st century ” he says and gets supported “Most of the world 's population, about 70% speak English or know him. And more than 80% of all stored information in the world is written in English or translated into it. Foreign language skills, and in particular the English are a good tool in work, school, on vacation, when building a career or promote your own business. The man who speaks fluent in English, will not get lost anywhere in the world where there are people.” (billionmindsfoundation).
There are facts about English which would encourage people to learn English, ”There are more people in China learning English than speaking it in North America - over 200 million. English is the official language of a third of the world 's population and a working language for half the world 's population. Of the world 's four most numerous languages, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic and English, the latter owes its position uniquely to its use as a second language. A part of this pattern is the increasing reach of English in continental Europe where 91% of all secondary schools teach English and 65% of young continental Europeans claim to speak English reasonably well.” (English, The working language of the global village) English used to be a relatively unimportant language around 450 AD, when a set of Germanic tribes (mostly the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) moved from their homelands in what is now northern Germany to what is now England. Old English was widely spoken on the island in the centuries that followed, lost status when the French-speaking Normans conquered England, and slowly regained status in the late Middle English period. At this point, still, English was just one of many languages. It was generally less respected than Latin or french among scientists and theologians, for example.
It was not until the period of Early Modern English, a period also known as the Age of Discovery that English really began to gain status. The new country England began to establish colonies around the world and exported its language and governing systems so that it could import what it wanted, e.g. spices and rare woods and also for a while, slaves. The Early Modern English period witnessed the first time that English was spoken around the world, but still it was not nearly as widely spoken as it is today.
Englands and Americas triumph in the World War 2 tok the globalization of English one step further and the languages importance for the world has grown for each passing day since then. Being the second language choice for non English speaking people today all around the world is a evidence of how important it is for people to learn English. It is the language people speaks when they don’t know the language of the country they are in and even countries such Frenca and Germany have given up. Alexander v.Sandoval says in his essay “The importance of English” published on Eagleforum.com “In multilingual continental Europe, a fierce battle over language popularity appers to be ending with English as the standard for the 21st century.” and “The Germans have given up trying to persuade more Brits to learn their language and, instead, are now promoting English as the language of the 21st century, with lessons for children as young as six. Germany 's leading newspaper produces an eight-page English edition and declares that "English is going to be the lingua franca of the next century.”. Even though it does not and will probably never have an official status, English is the accepted universal language on the Internet. English is typically the language of the latest-version applications and programs. Even though progresses has been made in language translation online it is very difficult if not almost impossible to properly translate each and every webpage or program into a specific language. Even manuals, installation guides and products sheets of electronic and entertainment devices are usually first available in English. With this information in mind along with that Internet is becoming very important in our daily life’s, in commerce and also in education makes the English language bounded to grow. Thus the importance of the English language is underlined. English is today the standard language for businesses and industry, knowing English can be the key that unlocks enormous amounts of job opportunities. Many companies aim to become as successful as possible in their industry, which leads them to start working internationally and this makes the employers require superb English communication skills of the employees in order to deal with suppliers or contacts all across the world. Knowing English is not a guarantee to have a well paying position in the future but it is definitely a really good help on the way.
The growth of English has been huge since the World War 2 and it might not take long time before English will be a single language of the world like the single currency and the union of various nations. It is, after all, spoken by more than 300 million natives speakers, between 600 and 800 million foreign speakers. It is the common language of air transportation and shipping, science, technology, computers, and commerce, and a major language in education and publishing. For these reasons, good English communication skills is important in order get on board on the 21st centuries train.

Works Cited:

v.Sandoval, Alexander. The importance of our English Language Eagleforum. 1 May 2001. Web - 20 July 2011. (http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2001/may01/psrmay01.shtml)

General. English: Universal Language Billion Minds Foundation. 12 July 2001. Web - 20 July 2011. (http://www.billionmindsfoundation.org/english-universal-language/) Watson, Alan. English: The working language of the global village? Lord Alan Watson. 2010. Web - 20 July 2011. (http://www.lordalanwatson.com/english2.htm)

Cited: v.Sandoval, Alexander. The importance of our English Language Eagleforum. 1 May 2001. Web - 20 July 2011. (http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2001/may01/psrmay01.shtml) General. English: Universal Language Billion Minds Foundation. 12 July 2001. Web - 20 July 2011. (http://www.billionmindsfoundation.org/english-universal-language/) Watson, Alan. English: The working language of the global village? Lord Alan Watson. 2010. Web - 20 July 2011. (http://www.lordalanwatson.com/english2.htm)