English as a Universal Language

This assignment argues that teaching the universal version of English is essential for individuals seeking employment abroad and for businesses engaging in global trade. The author believes that focusing on a standardized version of English facilitates effective communication and opens doors to wider opportunities in an increasingly interconnected world.

Running head: English as a Global Language 1
English as Global Language
Name:
Institution:

English as a Global Language 2
Do you think the geographical spread of English or the industrial revolution was more
important in making English the global language? Why?
I think the industrial revolution was more important in making English the global
language as compared to geographical spread. This is because as far as geographical expansion is
concerned, the language could only be exported to regions where the original English speakers
colonized. Such countries were limited and cannot justify why English has been adopted
globally. Geographical spread could only go as far as the colonial explorers could go (Melitz,
2016). The logistical challenges of conquering many countries stood in their way and they could
only colonize few countries. It is also important to note that these countries were not willing
recipients of the language because of the approach of undermining of local culture which the
British mostly adopted. Industrial revolution on the other hand was compelling because countries
across the world needed to access industrial knowledge that was mainly held by the British.
British were the leader of industrial revolution and as such, the early technological advances
were coded in the English language (Dudley, 2016). The telegraph, for example, was initially
based on the English language and was at that time a revolutionary tool for communication
envied by countries across the world. Geographical spread of the English language, therefore
which was mainly done through colonial conquest could not spread the language to current
proportions as effectively as the Industrial revolution did. British colonialists, in their quest to
conquer the world, used the English language for expansion (Kumaravadivelu, 2016). This
conquest could only happen in specific countries given that there were also other countries
engaged in colonialism also. Such countries included the French, Germany and the Portuguese
among other powerful countries. The strength of the industrial revolution lay in its power to go

English as a Global Language 3
beyond territorial and language barriers. The recipients of the English language through
Industrial revolution were also willing participants as compared to those adopting it through
colonialism. Colonialism was mostly spread through crude means that often involved the
suppression of local cultures and violation of human rights. This left distasteful experiences
about the British by the locals (Neeley and Dumas, 2016). For this reason, they did not readily
adopt the language of the people they considered oppressors. In the Caribbean for example, the
African slaves developed such negative attitudes towards English that they decided to develop
their own language, creoles, as a means of communicating among themselves. Despite the
British conquest in the Caribbean, the language shares national status with Spanish (Giampapa
and Canagarajah, 2017). It is evident that the colonialists spread English through mostly brute
force and therefore experienced a lot of resistance in the early stages. The Industrial revolution
however, was a force that took the world by storm and in order to fully benefit from its gains, it
was imperative that countries learn the language. They did so mainly for their own benefit as
opposed to the forceful mean which the colonialists mostly adopted to spread the language.
Do you think British colonialists and American political and economical and
cultural power was most important in making English the global language? Why?
British colonialists played a great role in taking English beyond the boundaries of Britain
in the early days. Given that Britain was the greatest political, economic and Industrial power in
the world in the 18th century, the country leveraged on its superiority to spread its language
wherever it conquered nations through colonialism. Anew political force, however, began to
emerge from America towards the end of the 19th century. America is much bigger that Britain
and its rise to the apex of political superiority helped spread it culture faster. The Adoption of the
English language as a global language happened at a time when international organizations had

English as a Global Language 4
decided to come together. The need to communicate among them arose but it was becoming
expensive to use the different language of the speakers to communicate and for this reason, they
decided to adopt the English language for this purpose (Lucas Jr, 2017). The creation of the
United Nations, whose headquarters was located in New York, was also a push factor for the
English language. The world, in response shifted its focus to the USA. Today America continues
to enjoy elevated status given its superiority in social, political and cultural advancement. The
United Nations body is now expanded and has operation in majority of countries in the world. It
is through such agencies, which have gained great reputation in promotion of peace and
humanitarian assistance among other roles that America continues to spread its values of modern
societies that promote freedom of expression. English remains the official language of
communication in the UN (Gayton, 2016). It continues to spread these values by the use of the
English language. America’s influence continues through the mass media and political influence
that is mainly facilitated through English. The spread of democracy, for instance, which is
chiefly an American concept, is touted as the most progressive form of government. America
also continues to spread its values of freedom and human rights and thus help to propagate
English as a global language. America’s political, cultural and political superiority has done a lot
to legitimize English globally more that what the colonialists did in early days during their
conquest of the world. America continues to propel the use of English through such innovations
that are internet linked. Social media sites and other applications based on the World Wide Web
spread quickly across the world in real time and transmit culture in speeds never seen before.
British colonialists laid the foundation for English to spread but their means of doing so were
limited. During the colonial times, the level of communication technology was only rudimentary
and could not accomplish the great feats that the Television and internet enabled communication

English as a Global Language 5
achieves today. Britain’s diminished status as a superpower has also lowered its influence on the
cultures of the world. For this reason, I believe America continues to play a more important role
in popularizing English worldwide especially through the internet.
Do you think learners should be taught a native variety of English? Explain your
answer using what you have learnt in this class.
The native variety of English should be taught to learners because English is a global
language. The learners can become expert communicators across the world if they adopted this
language in the same way as it is spoken elsewhere. There are varieties of the English language
which have been adopted by various speakers. These varieties sometimes incorporate local
dialects and are conveniently used to communicate to a limited group of persons. However,
different variations of English can be confusing to speakers who are not familiar with the
particular dialects. I recommend that native varieties of English be limited to the social space so
that the universally spoken English is taught in school. Two major variations of English exist in
the world today; the British and the American English. These two can be taught to countries that
adopt these different sounds. Any speaker identifying with any of these two varieties will be in a
better place to transact business and interact with people across the world on various aspects.
Native varieties are limiting and should not be encouraged in the current globalizing
world. However, it must also be acknowledged that English is a dynamic language whose
vocabulary keeps growing with time (Paradis and Jia, 2017). There should be no rigidity when
learning the English language as speakers should be prepared to adopt new aspect so the
language with time. There are several countries that have adopted varieties of English
customized to their local situations. Such countries include India, Nigeria and Pakistan among
other countries. These speakers incorporate words in their local dialects and use pronunciations

English as a Global Language 6
that favor them (Leitner et al., 2016) . When it comes to transacting with people who do not
subscribe to those versions of English however, the get a challenge because they are not able to
pass their messages across. People seeking further education will also find it a challenge to
communicate in the English when they travel to foreign countries (Tuck and Gorlewski, 2016).
This is because the facilitation may be limited to the universally spoken variety of the language.
Such learners will have challenges both in communication as well as learning crucial information
in their areas of study. This challenge can also be experienced by persons seeking employment
opportunities in foreign countries. In order for them to survive in those countries, they will have
to express themselves in a language that their hosts can understand. Since English is now a
universal language, it is vital that such speakers be well versed with it in the universal version
(Rose and Galloway, 2016). Business persons across have opportunities to trade across the globe
in the current globalized world. It is therefore imperative upon teachers to teach pupils on how to
express themselves in the universal version of the English language so that they do not limit their
opportunities in the future. Language should be able to facilitate communication and for this
reason, I discourage the teaching of native varieties of English to schools.

English as a Global Language 7
References
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