Negative Impacts of English as a Global Business Language

Running head: ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL BUSINESS LANGUAGE 1
English as a Global Business Language
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)

ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL BUSINESS LANGUAGE 2
Introduction
As an increasing number of the world economies adopt a capitalistic styled economy,
English has become widely adopted as a global business language. Statistical reports indicate
that as at the year 2017, approximately 1.75 billion people globally communicate in English at a
useful level (Neeley, 2014). The rise in number of U.S based multinational companies has been
cited by many researchers as one of the primary cause of rapid adoption of English as the
corporate language of choice. Major companies like Airbus, Nokia, Microsoft, Samsung and
Renault are among some of the originations that have implemented policies advocating for the
massive adoption of English as the language of choice for corporate communication (Neeley,
2014).
This policy is largely aimed at facilitating communication and organizational
performance across the geographically diverse business endeavors and functions. One of the
major benefits of the widespread adoption of English is that it facilitates international business in
that individuals from different cultures can be able to communicate in a common language and
understand each other (Neeley, 2012). The adoption of English as the common mode of
communication though beneficial also has a number of negative impacts. This paper highlights
some of the key negative impacts of the massive adoption of English as the global business
language. Through the discussion the paper will serve to demonstrate that even though English
adoptions aids global business it can also harm people’s ability to conduct business dialogue
successfully.
Different Use of English Language
Studies indicate that within the next decade, the total number of non native English
speakers is expected to reach over 3 billion therefore outnumbering the number of native English

ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL BUSINESS LANGUAGE 3
speakers at a ratio of 4 to 1(Neeley, 2014). Studies have also revealed that due to the difference
in culture and dialects, non-native English speakers utilize the language differently than native
English speakers (Trompenaars, & Hampden-Turner, 2011). This is most evident in the
difference that exists between U.S based English and U.K based English.
The differences in use of English create a significant gap in communication that carries
with it a number of negative implications for global organizations that operate in different
cultural zones. The difference in English use is largely due to the fact that the adoption of
English among non- native speakers usually does not include cultural transfer because the
language is primarily acquired as a tool for communication and not as aspects of history or
culture (Bruthiaux, 2002). The cultural perceptions are usually formed over time and as a result
tend to affect the different forms of interpersonal interactions.
The cultural perceptions are crucial for the formulation of distinction between positive
and negative engagements of the participants. Another factor that leads to the English gap is the
fact that non-native English speakers might conduct dialogue in English by fusing it with their
native accents, communication assumptions and perspective fueled by their cultural background
The English gap is a major problem for business communication as it affects individual’s ability
to understand each other.
Creation of a Power Shift
Another major consequence of using English as the global business language is that it
creates a power shift within the workplace. Studies have revealed that organization that
multinational organizations that declare English as formal the corporate language develop an
immediate shift of power within the organization (Ellinsky, 2016). The power shift stems from
the fact that individuals in the organization who are able to communicate in English capitalize on