Global English English as an International Language

Official languages in Sweden : 1999: Finnish Sami language Romani chib Yiddish Meänkieli (Tornedal Finnish) 2009: Swedish!

English as an international language English is heard on TV, spoken by politicians from all over the world The speaker doesn’t need to have a perfect command of the culture English expresses (English, American) It is used by businessmen and tourists It is used in the communication of ideas and culture It functions as a bridge between speakers with different linguistic backgrounds English plays the role of lingua franca

Competing global languages Mandarin 845 /1025 Spanish 329 /390 Hindi/Urdu 240 /405 Arabic 232 /452 Portugese 178 /193 Russian 144 /250 French 68 /120 The five official languages of the UN are English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese English 328 / 1500

Why only English? Half of the world’s scientific journals is written in English Three quarters of the world’s mail are written in English Three fifths of the radio stations of the world broadcast in English English is spoken as a first language by 300 million people One in five people speak English competently

Why only English? All international pilots All international sea captains 7 largest TV broadcasters – CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC, CBC, CNN, C-Span Half of all newspapers

Why only English? The flexibility of the English language Migration to the USA has created a segment of the world population whose aim is to learn English for survival purposes Some countries use English to avoid having to choose between conflicting local languages

First, second or foreign? First language – used as a mother tongue Second language – used for administration, broadcasting, education (India, Nigeria, Singapore) Foreign language - used to promote trade, scientific progress, international communication, learnt in school (Sweden…)

Countries with English as an official language

The spread of English as a language The industrial revolution, the British economic predominance in the 19th century, the colonization of large geographical areas The displacement of French as a language of diplomacy After World War II, there was a rise in economic influence from the United States

The Future of Global English What kinds of development could impede, slow down or stop the future growth of English? A significant change in the balance of power politically economically culturally tecnologically

2 questions: What’s interesting to know about another English speaking country? Each of you makes a list! Look at your list – pick 3 countries (from slide 11) that you would like to learn more about!