Will the English Language Become Universal?

The prevalence of the English language in today's global communications is neither surprising nor accidental. This dominance has strong historical roots, based on the globe-spanning nature that the British Empire has achieved by the mid-eighteenth century; the phrase "the sun never sets on the British Empire" was not a mere turn of phrase - it was a reflection of a physical fact that British colonial possessions were so widespread, there was sunlight in at least some of them at any time of the 24-hour daily span. Even as the Empire diminished, its former dominions continued to use the language of the mother country, and tremendous economic and political influence that the United States - itself a set of former British colonies - exerted during its existence, and particularly throughout the twentieth century, has helped maintain and even increase the use of the English language throughout the world.

Spoken by at least one-third of the world's population as a native language, and with its being the lingua franca of the World Wide Web, English retains its dominance in the modern world, allowing some to claim that it may - with some modifications due to "borrowing" from other languages - become the single language used throughout the world. Others consider it unlikely and see the status quo preserved for the foreseeable future. Yet others hold a radically different view of the dominance of the English language slowly deteriorating due to increased population mixing and liberal policies instituted in English-speaking countries to accommodate non-native speakers. Personally, I tend to side with those who think that the current state of affairs will remain largely unchanged for many years to come. If the concept of a universal global language is to be taken seriously at all, it is likely to happen a long time in the future, and this language likely would not resemble any single language spoken today.

The view that the English language eventually will replace all languages and become a universal language of the world is being supported by a number of main argument points, namely the fact that it is the main language of global communication, that of global commerce, and finally the ease of learning it. With the Internet having been designed in an English-speaking country, it is not surprising that its codes and its domains are based on English; currently, over 80 percent of all Web content is in English. Additionally, English is by far the most dominant language of international business. In addition to so much global commerce being done with at least one party - and often both of them - speaking English as a native language, it is also habitually used in transactions between the two parties that do not have a language in common. Finally, English in its structure, complexity, and pronunciation is considered among the easiest language to learn at least on the basic level, as well as perceived as "cool" by many among the younger generations, which provides another reason for its continuous spread.

In my opinion, these arguments rely too much on the current global situation and do not take into account the specifics of future development as indicated by the already existing trends. For example, the reason for the dominance of the English language in the global economy is due to a large part to the United States - an English-speaking country - being the dominant force on the global marketplace. This position has been steadily diminishing in the past few years, and in combination with the continuous rise of China, India, and, to some extent, even Russia, there is a real possibility of the U.S. losing its dominant position in the global economy. As a result, global business transactions may drift to the language of the dominant player.

The contention that the dominance of the English language is likely to continue but without replacing other languages is based on the current geopolitical situation throughout the world, specifically the rise in nationalism akin to that of the early-twentieth-century Europe and of Southeast Asia and Africa in the decades immediately following World War II. The collapse of authoritarian communist regimes throughout Europe has resulted in a tremendous nationalistic revival, particularly among the peoples of the multi-ethnic states like the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. Native language is an integral part of the individual national identity and pride for these new nations, and the feeling is too fresh to have the native language replaced by English as a matter of convenience. On the other hand, the feeling of national identity being reaffirmed through language is just as strong in countries with long historical roots, such as France, Italy, and Germany, for example.

The understanding and appreciation of these facts is reflected in the language policies of the European Union. Although a single governing entity, with its citizens having the ability to travel within its boundaries without bothering with national borders, the EU not only does not promote the development of a universal language, but in fact actively promotes its multilingual heritage through its educational policies. While leaving local policies to the discretion of individual member-states, the EU government encourages every EU citizen to know at least two European languages in addition to their native language.

While the strong sense of nationalism felt in individual countries throughout the world can be reason enough in itself for the English language not to acquire the dominance necessary to become the world's universal language, added to it is the strong sense of animosity between the world's cultures. While it intensified tremendously following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it has been present even prior to that. Popular sentiment concentrates on the clash between the Western world and the world of Islam, but in fact the cultural clash is considerably wider in scope, with the dominant world cultures including, in addition to the two previously mentioned, Chinese, Eastern Orthodox, Japanese, Latin American, Hindu, and African. In my opinion, in this antagonistic atmosphere, it is unrealistic to expect other cultures to accept English - the dominant languages of the Western culture - instead of their own native language.

Finally, those who see the English language retreating as the dominant language of global communication base their view on the shifting geopolitical situation throughout the world and on the continuing advances in communication technology. Globalization has benefited certain regions of the world tremendously, particularly in Asia. While such countries as Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines are benefiting from it, the most dramatic change is occurring in India and China due to the abundance of resources - particularly human resources - needed for a rapid economic expansion. As a former British colony, India has little qualms with using English as the language of global communication and commerce - indeed, as a second national language even, with English taught universally in Indian schools. Still, the preference in spoken and written communication is for Hindi, the native language of India, which may reflect on the main global communication network - the Internet - as more Indians acquire access to it.

China, on the other hand, is the fastest developing economy in the world due to a combination of vast human resources, plentiful natural resources, and authoritarian government applying lax economic regulations to stimulate entrepreneurial growth. With no historical roots in the English language, the Chinese prefer to do business in their own language, Mandarin, which is something that business entities competing for Chinese products, services, and investments must consider while transacting business in China or with the Chinese. Similar to India, the more Chinese acquire access to the Internet, the more the usage of Mandarin as the language of global communication will increase. The result is that Hindi or Mandarin might be the dominant Internet language by 2020.

Even if this does not occur, rapid development of communication technologies may create a situation where there is no need for English to become the universal language of the exchange of information. Some industry experts predict that automatic Web-based translation systems can be developed as early as 2020, allowing people to communicate with foreign language speakers without the need to learn each other's language - similar to the universal translator in "Time Trek." This will eliminate the need for any language, English among them, to be the dominant language of global communication.

In my opinion, this view puts too much faith into technological innovations without realizing how difficult it is to convey accurately all the intricacies of individual languages. Current Web tools are incapable of it, and it does not seem likely that things will change radically in a mere decade, considering how much of a human factor is involved in inter-lingual communication.

Bibliography

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Glaser, Mark. English Today, Mandarin by 2020? 25 September 2006. Mediashift.

The Globalization of the English Language. 2 February 2008. Worldquests.info.

Hunter, Shireen T. The Future of Islam and the West: Clash of Civilizations or Peaceful Coexistence? Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998.

Melitz, Jacques. English as the Global Language: Good for Business, Bad for Literature. 30 April 2005. Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Mydans, Seth. Across Cultures, English Is the Word. 9 April 2007. International Herald Tribune.