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I think the main reason people speak English is the dominance of the US in the entertainment industry. When I go shopping in Brussels, I hear English pop music on the radio. When I go that the movies in Amsterdam, most of the movies that are playing are produced in Hollywood and are in English with Dutch subtitles. When I turn on the television in a hotel room in Manama, it's US shows that are on.
I have been traveling fairly widely lately, and the dominance of US culture is kind of depressing -- not because I don't like it. I do. I'm a proud American, and I think our culture (even the parts people complain about) is pretty awesome, but there's something to be said for diversity. At the rate we're going, what happened in the US after the 1950s (when many of the regional differences disappeared) is going to happen to the entire world.
Absolutely. This and the fact that jazz, blues, rock'n'roll, all of the various forms of rock music, and hip hop were all started and dominated by American and English performers. And that pretty much describes the whole music of the XX century. It's the cultural influence that spreads the language. Especially the "trendy" culture. The reason French language was in that same position before English wasn't because of French power or French commerce, it was because Paris was the cultural capital of the world that all the cool trends of the time emanated from. Rich people learned French because they dressed in French clothes and threw French style ball parties and traveled to Paris every year, not because France was a powerful country. The Netherlands were a very powerful country at some point and one of the leaders in world commerce, but few people learned Dutch
English isn't the "global language" because many countries have English as their official language.
English is the global language because if I met a Namibian I'd converse in English, this is not the result of the British Empire (or better only in a small part) but the result of US cultural power, of the internet and of the tv/radio/music.
But the US speaks ENGLISH!!! Ask yourself why!? That's right because of the English! Its not hard the clue is in the name of the country and the name of the language! Incidently what has the radio got to do with it! That was actually invented by an Italian! What has music got to do with it? Oh and incidently the internet isn't American either! Lol
But the US speaks ENGLISH!!! Ask yourself why!? That's right because of the English! Its not hard the clue is in the name of the country and the name of the language! Incidently what has the radio got to do with it! That was actually invented by an Italian! What has music got to do with it? Oh and incidently the internet isn't American either! Lol
You don't understand.
No one is contesting the fact that at the roots of English prominence there's the UK, the fact is that English has become so widespread as the US became the superpower we know today, not the other way around.
English is so important because the US speak English and the US have literally invaded the world with their culture and their entertainment industry, because of this English has gradually crept in the whole world.
Before this, even when the British Empire was at its height (1914), English wasn't the primary language in the diplomatic contest, it was French.
You don't understand.
No one is contesting the fact that at the roots of English prominence there's the UK, the fact is that English has become so widespread as the US became the superpower we know today, not the other way around.
English is so important because the US speak English and the US have literally invaded the world with their culture and their entertainment industry, because of this English has gradually crept in the whole world.
Before this, even when the British Empire was at its height (1914), English wasn't the primary language in the diplomatic contest, it was French.
Nobody is denying the influence the Hollywood or the US has but this is still because of the English! its ridiculous to suggest that the English have nothing to do with the success of.....English! the reason people in the US speak English is because of the English! its because of the British Empire but its not JUST the Americans that speak English because of the British Empire the same can be said about the whole of the rest of the Anglo world as well as countries in Asia that although not officially English speaking have English as an integral part of their language, in essense:-
Australians speak English because of the British Empire
Americans speak English because of the British Empire
New Zealanders speak English because of the British Empire
Canadians speak English because of the British Empire
Caribbean nations speak English because of the British Empire
India speaks English because of the British Empire
Pakistan / Burma & other Asian countries speak English because of the British Empire
Singapore / Hong Kong speaks English because of the British Empire
Many countries in Africa speaks English because of the British Empire
Whatever you think about French the fact is that the British Empire happening at a time when the world was shrinking was a big reason why English was thrust forward as the world language, it was just chance but it became inevitable at that point, add to that the fact that Anglo music, TV and film has been at the forefront of culture in the 20th Century, the fact that the world wide webb was invented by an Englishman and the Americans have given us Google and you can see why the language is as it is now.
"Among" the most important? Which language rivals it? Spanish? Yes, it is widely spoken, but when a Dutchman and Jordanian get together, the chances of them coversing in Spanish is pretty much nil. They'll be having that conversation in English. Chinese? See the comment about Spanish.
Dutchmen and Jordanian? French, Spanish, German, English? Ducth are multi-lingual.
That's fair - of course countries have their own language, music and culture, but what is really surprising to me is how dominant US-based entertainment is around the world. In the past three weeks, I've been in Brussels, Amsterdam, Bahrain and Paris. I've seen the same movie posters in all locations, heard the same songs on the radio and have seen the same chain restaurants. Maybe the universality of Hollywood entertainment (which I think is crap for the most part by the way) is more a result of English dominance than a cause of it, but it's everywhere. I think if the entire world was listening to pop music in Dutch, watching Dutch movies and looking at signs printed in Dutch, they'd probably pick up a bit of Dutch.
Movies are dubbed in many countries and Movies/Music Distributors are multinational companies. I don't see people learning more English, because movies/tv are dubbed all around. Most good films are multinational products.
While I agree that English is currently the world's most "important" language in an overall sense, it's also clear that French is still an international language as well.
My impression of French as an international language has gone down since moving to Europe. Most non-French / Belgian Europeans I meet don't speak French, but they do speak English. I live in the northern part, so maybe it would be different if I were in Italy or Spain. You think the Spanish and Italians speak more French? I heard a fair amount of Spanish in Paris for what it's worth, so maybe there is something to be said for proximity.
It won't be recognizable as English after a couple of centuries!
If English morphs into a global pidgin language that would be fine by me. If I could wave a magic wand and make everyone all over the globe speak the same language, I would. Yes, a lot would be lost in doing so, but in my opinion it would be worth it for what would be gained. I think it would great if all humans on Earth could converse with each other in a native mother tongue.
Chinese language is spoken by most people; English and Russian are native to most land mass.
English is most international in terms of global commerce, financial, technology, diplomacy, culture ... thus it depends on those things and its status may change in the future depending on those things.
you listed 309 million English speakers but there are more than that just in the USA and we haven't even statred with UK, Canada, Australia...not to mention the 2 billion across the globe that speak English as a 2nd language.
It started with the English dominance in trading worldwide and then USA dominated the world economically and entertainment industries. Everywhere in the world listens to American music and movies.
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