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#20134 02/26/01 04:31 AM
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English is a global language. With the rise of electronic communication,
worldwide trade and international travel, its status has far surpassed
that of a link language. English is equated with success. Wherever you go--
from the luxuriant rain-forests of Costa Rica to the untamed wilds of
Serengeti to the hodgepodge of Eastern bazaars--you're sure to find someone
who speaks English, albeit in an accent far different from yours. If nothing
else, English makes a disguised appearance in hybrids such as Franglais,
Spanglish, Hinglish, etc.

Of course, this rise in popularity of English is not without a downside.
Talk with someone for whom English is not a first language and you sense
a feeling of loss. Reactions vary greatly--from the trace of helplessness
of parents whose children can't appreciate a poem in their native language,
to lawmakers making it mandatory for a company to also have a Web site in
the language of their country before the company can do business there.

What do you think? We'd love to hear from you about this subject, whether
English is your first language or not. Join us on the bulletin board
http://wordsmith.org/board/ to discuss. Meanwhile, taste a few words from
the world's newspapers.

English as a global language will be discussed today in an online chat with
David Crystal, author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
and other books on language. Join us at http://wordsmith.org/chat/dc.html
on Feb 26, 2001 at 3 PM GMT (10 AM EST U.S.).

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I live in Israel where Hebrew and Arabic are the 'official' languages, but most everyone learns and speaks English quite well, and it is THE language of business and the internet and diplomacy (these days). Thing is - when one is learning another language, and especially languages like Hebrew & Arabic which are so different from English, it becomes increasingly difficult to remember even the simplest words in English and so we speak in a mixture of two languages (or sometimes more) all at once! In fact, English speakers here (and probably others as well) have a saying - we become NOT fluent in two languages!



suzanne pomeranz, tourism consultant jerusalem, israel - suztours@gmail.com
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Lets face it; English is the de facto lingua franca!

Rod Ward
Aut numquam testes, aut perfice.

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> you're sure to find someone who speaks English,
And wherever you go--from Miami to Los Angeles--you can be sure to find someone who speaks Spanish...

> We'd love to hear from you about this subject
In my native tongue or in English? ...



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hmmmm, I think I did this wrong - it's my first time. I posted something on the main page. If people would like to e-mail me (sorry I only read English), that would be great. English is a world language, but not THE world language. I live in Asia and have experienced this to be the way things are in 'the East'.


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It's early and I am have not finished my first cup of coffee here so I forewarn the reader that I might appear to be overly cynical, but while it seems a very romantic notion to morn the passing of other languages in favor of a global language, exactly how much progress towards global peace and prosperity can we make without a common language? I find great beauty in our ethnic and cultural differences, but many people use them as reasons to hate and kill. We simply interact too much at this point in our global history to exist without a common form of communication.
On another note, I think that every generation morns how their children have twisted, torn, and rather disrespectful stomped on the language their parents tried to teach them. Trace English back to the late 1800's and Henry James' "The Ambassadors" or back to the Middle English of Chaucer and it is easy to see that English is not a carefully preserved or respected language at all. I dare say that there have been some Irish and Scottish films of note lately where subtitles made it possible for me to understand the English dialogue at all. A language that is controlled too tightly is a culture where thought is controlled too tightly.
I think that English has some momentum right now to become the basis for a global language and it will be a remarkable thing to be able to communicate one on one with anyone on the planet. However, I am sure that it will not be too long before our kids start taking it for granted and the subject probably will probably fade into obscurity until we translate the first signals from the alien mother ship telling us that there is a waiting period before we can start using their language or currency. (They will probably have a formal procedure to decide if we are intelligent life that deserves language and trade, or if they should gas the lot of us and make room for the alien equivalent of Disney world.)


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I'm pleased that this week's theme has brought some new minds to the board! Welcome! I'd like to point out a couple of threads where this topic has been discussed previously:

http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=16487 (contains some good statistics
on the major languages)

Also germane:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=15923

I hope those who can participate in the chat today with David Crystal enjoy it. I'll have to content myself with the transcript.


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English is the language of the current dominant world power and until that changes most people will choose to learn it as a second language. No judgement or chauvinism intended or implied, just a fact. In the meantime, Esperanto has been kicking around for more than a century now. In a perfect world, we would be able to converse with each other fluently without losing our cultural diversity or identities.


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Unfortunately, in the United States, we speak a constantly-bastardized version of English. Nouns suddenly become verbs (Do you golf?) tenses become mixed (Price reduction on select items), and new words are coined daily. When we speak of a global language, that language would need to be more static than US English. New words are needed to express new concepts, but slang and lack of use of any language rules must be eliminated before there can be a truly global language.

While US English is my first language, I believe it is a poor choice for use as a global language. There are more exceptions than rules, bizarre pronunciations, and words that are spelled the same but have diverse, sometimes opposite meanings, than in other languages. We seem to pride ourselves on the flexibility and changeability of US English. With this language in a constant state of flux, how can we expect non-native speakers of this language to understand all of the subtleties and nuances of it?

While it may be seen as a negative attribute by some, the attempts to keep French as a stable language would, on the surface, recommend that language as more of a global one due to its stability and consistency. There may be other reasons to rule out French, but it at least demonstrates some of the features necessary to be globally accepted for international use.


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I was married to a Singaporean, and lived in that country for about two years. While there, I learned to speak fluently the lingua franca, called "Singlish," which incorporated a primarily English vocabulary (with some Chinese dialect and Malay) in an Asian syntax and rhythm. I am currently in a relationship with a gentleman from Iraq who speaks Chaldean, Arabic and English. I do appreciate the sense of disjunction that can occur in such relationships, and also the tremendous insights. Although my former mother-in-law spoke no English, we did manage to communicate effectively; even though my boyfriend does not always know the correct word or usage, I have never not been able to understand what he is talking about. As for the "choice" of English as a global language, who is it that is making the choice? I agree that its place as a global language is primarily due to the current dominance of the United States in commercial and/or political matters. But the thing about a "living" language, like any other "living" thing, is that no one is necessarily "in control" of what happens to it out in the wider world. Maybe that makes it more difficult, or more challenging, depending on how you want to look at it and how enlightened you are or are willing to be.


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