1. ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE 1
English as a Global Language
McGill University
LING 320 - Sociolinguistics
Eunbee Jang (260******)
March 29, 2016

2. ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE 2
English as a Global Language
What does it mean when a language becomes a universal lingua franca? Can the
dominance of English shape the future of the world’s linguistic paradigm? In modern society,
English is commonly perceived as a global language. It is known as the language of diplomacy,
business, education, and information technology. English is used to facilitate communication
among native and non-native speakers around the world. According to the British Council,
English is an official language in at least 75 countries and is used by almost a quarter of the
world’s population. Previously, scholars like Henry Sweet and Noah Webster anticipated that
English was at a risk of diversifying and eventually disappearing. However, in more
contemporary times, critics such as Jan Svartvik, Geoffrey Leech and David Crystal predict that
it will establish itself as a strong monolingual force and dominate the world’s linguistic heritage,
while nations will still acknowledge minority varieties as local standards. Nevertheless, there is
ongoing debate about whether English liberates people around the world, or leads to the death
of minority languages and cultures. Ultimately, modern scholars demonstrate that the global
village will become multidialectal and will resemble a diglossic society.
English as a global language
English was not always considered a prestigious language in history. During the time of
Norman Conquest in the eleventh century, English did not have an official standing in Britain.
Instead, it “was for two hundred years only a spoken language” (Brinton, 2006, p. 233).
According to David Crystal, the current status of English is largely due to two factors: British
colonial expansion in the nineteenth century, and the emergence of American economic

3. ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE 3
superiority in the twentieth century (Crystal, 2012, p. 59). As Britain pioneered the major
technological advances, “countries which needed this new industrial knowledge could access it
most directly via the medium of English, and this strengthened the position of the language
internationally” (Fennell, 2001, p. 256). Similarly, during the rise of American economic
preeminence and political leadership in the late nineteenth century, many countries began to
cooperate by creating international organizations such as the United Nations. As Fennell
indicates, the countries with minority language speakers needed to be able to communicate and
English continues to be implemented for interaction (p. 257).
By the early twenty-first century, the grand total of people speaking English had reached
2,236 million, which is roughly a third of the world’s population (Crystal, 2012, p. 67). As Crystal
indicates, only 329 million of the total speak English as their first language. He explains:
From a time (in the 1960s) when the majority of speakers were thought to be
first-language speakers, we now have a situation where there are more people speaking it
as a second language, and many more speaking it as a foreign language. If we combine
these two latter groups, the ratio of native to non-native is around 1:3. Moreover, the
population growth in areas where English is a second language is about 2.5 times that in
areas where it is a first language, so that this differential is steadily increasing. (p. 69)
Crystal recognizes that having speakers of English as a second and foreign language
outnumbering native speakers will create more varieties of English in the future. Additionally,
he points out that with the growing number of English speakers around the world, English has
become a means of communication in domains such as international relations, media, travel,
safety, and education (p. 86). As English increasingly becomes the principle global language,
scholars attempt to hypothesize its future in the context of its development.

4. ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE 4
Future development of English
With a growing number of English speakers around the world, many local varieties of
English have emerged. The term ‘New Englishes’ was introduced by linguists to describe the
type of vernacular dialects spoken in the Outer Circle countries like the Philippines, Malaysia
and Singapore. With this trend in mind, several sociolinguists have speculated about what the
future of English would look like. Earlier scholars such as Sweet and Webster had predicted that
English would diversify into different languages as Latin did, arguing that different ‘Englishes’
spoken in traditional communities like England, America, and Australia would be mutually
unintelligible due to their independent developments (Crystal, 2012, p. 177). However, their
predictions failed to actualize because these dialects are mutually intelligible today, though there
are considerable numbers of visible accent and lexical differences. Although each form of
English developed independently, a steadfast relationship with Britain may have kept these
Englishes from dispersing.
In contrast, modern critics such as Svartvik, Leech and Crystal assert that the emergence
of different varieties will result in multi-dialectalism instead of English diversifying into
different languages. To support their argument, Svartvik and Leech (2006) make a meaningful
contrast between English and Latin. Latin served as a lingua franca during the time of western
civilization long before the rise of English as a global language. With the disintegration of the
Roman Empire, Latin lost its unifying force and its varieties evolved into an entire family of
Romance languages such as ​Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian. These scholars
state that English seems to parallel with the pattern of Latin given that many different
‘Englishes’ which “were considered non-standard, provincial or offbeat dialects of English in an

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earlier age are now being seen as independent languages” (p. 223). Specific examples of these
languages include Ulster Scots, Jamaican Creole, and Tok Pisin. Svartvik and Leech, however,
maintain that English is not destined to follow the historical phenomenon of diversification
because the world has completely changed since the breakup of Latin. As they indicate, “today
we have printed books, magazines, movies and television programmes in worldwide circulation,
airborne travel, mobile phones, the internet and other new forms of communication” (p. 224).
English is less likely to disappear because printing and communication technologies have
significantly transformed and are widely available.
Crystal’s view coincides with Svartvik and Leech’s perspective. He interprets the current
trend as the world gradually growing into a multidialectal society. While Crystal claims that
nothing can prevent countries from declaring their variety of English an independent language,
people will continue to speak different ‘Englishes’ because “the need for intelligibility and the
need for identity often pull people – and countries – in opposing directions (Crystal, 2012,
p.127). Although individuals can conserve their cultural identities by using their varieties of
English, the need for international communication will help diverse dialects to thrive.
Additionally, Crystal claims that a new form of English, which he titles the World Standard
Spoken English(WSSE), should be established for global communication. Having a new
standard will prevent English from splitting and eventually disappearing while simultaneously
upholding its plurality. Likewise, Svartvik and Leech acknowledge the importance of English
language diversity. They write:
The monoglot village or small town community one finds in the US or the UK is far from
the norm in the world at large. It has been estimated that two-thirds of the world’s
people grow up in some kind of bilingual community. Similarly, the plurality of English

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means that most members of an English-speaking community are likely to need more
than one kind of English. (Svartvik & Leech, 2006, p. 225)
As Svartvik and Leech suggests, the demand for local dialects will encourage language
multiplicity. Indeed, examples of where multi-dialectalism is in effect today include countries
like the USA and the UK . Both nations use the standardized form of their language - Standard
American English(SAE) and Received Pronunciation(RP) - in more formal settings while
vernacular forms of dialects are used in casual settings. Likewise, having several forms of
standardized English stops minority dialects from dying because.... Given that the world
currently favours multidialectal societies, English benefits individuals in many domains.
English as a Productive and Liberating Tool
With possible future of English development in mind, it is important to observe the
current role of English in international communities. English has been an influential tool for
countries to access information in the areas of industrialization, technology, and diplomacy.
Moreover, it has liberated individuals who speak the language competently. According to the
British Council, English “can be a prerequisite for many international [job] positions, an asset in
diplomacy, foreign relations and development, and a passport to advancement in the global
media, entertainment and financial worlds” (British Council, 2013, p. 6). They argue that
individuals with proper English skills benefit from life-changing opportunities, which promote
prosperity and security around the world. However, since the British Council advocates English
education, they are likely to represent English learning positively, and therefore, their
perspectives may be biased. Similarly, Anne Pakir states that “English is a global vehicle that
refuels at every stop, creates economic and other opportunities, and returns to its home bases,

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each time upping the financial ante for English users” (Pakir, 1999, p. 104). She supports her
reasoning by using the case of Singapore, where English is a common language for their
multilingual population. Because English is used in almost all aspects of the country, it serves as
the dominant language in the world of business and finance. To Singapore’s three million
people, “English can be regarded as the cause and effect of their economic state of well-being”
(p. 107). Likewise, Crystal (2012) recognizes the linguistic influence English has and wonders if
those who speak the global language as a mother tongue are placed in a powerful position in
comparison to those learning it as a second or a foreign language (p. 16). He questions whether
local vernacular speakers are disadvantaged by linguistic dominance because they do not speak
the global language as accurately as natives. However, Crystal asserts that “if proper attention is
paid to the question of language learning … and the global language is taught early enough… the
problem of disadvantage dramatically diminishes” (p. 16). In order for individuals to benefit
from societies which promote one language model, governments should construct
infrastructures for children to learn at young ages. Crystal embraces the reality of language
learners and sensibly presents a possible solution that can be implemented.
Language death
While many perceive that knowing English has beneficial consequences, some scholars
assert that the survival of other languages is interrupted by the global dominance of English.
Robert Phillipson argues that the risk of minority language death is due to “market forces and
ideology and practice of monolingual nation-states” (Phillipson, 2001, p. 189). He also claims
that English dominance may be replaced by other languages because the world’s economic and
political systems are unstable and can change at anytime. Phillipson grasps how the centre of the

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world’s interest is closely associated with the global standing of a language. Furthermore, Rainer
Hamel views globalization in the context of English’s influence on vernacular languages. He
claims that nearly ninety per cent of the world’s languages are in danger of disappearing by the
end of twenty-first century due to linguistic dominance, and the loss of global linguistic
treasures will be irreparable (Hamel, 2005, p. 25). He also emphasizes that all official languages
are in fact “killer languages” when taught subjectively, and that languages should be recorded in
writing systems in order to be maintained (p. 25). Hamel understands the importance of
documentation and education on preserving endangered languages and reasons that the future
of languages depends on how people protect them. In line with Hamel, Crystal proposes, “the
death [of languages] has been caused by an ethnic group coming to be assimilated within a more
dominant society, and adopting its language” (Crystal, 2012, p. 20). Thousands of languages
around the world have died since humans developed the ability to speak. When languages die,
not only do the language speakers disappear but also their identity and culture are lost.
Many of the consequences on indigenous languages due to globalization have been
disastrous. Despite the effort of language revitalization, Scottish Gaelic, for example, is at a risk
of extinction because the descendants of Gaelic speakers have become English dominants.
Moreover, several indigenous American native languages have disappeared for the same reason.
Nonetheless, Crystal identifies the reverse effect on language shifting found in more recent
times. As the movements of civil and language rights play an important role in modern life, local
languages are stimulated by the threat of English (p.21). The desire to preserve indigenous
heritages empowers local speakers to fight for language revitalization. Such cases are found in
Maori in New Zealand, the Aboriginal languages of Australia, the Indian languages of Canada
and the USA, and some of the Celtic languages. Crystal argues that this pattern is closely

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associated with nationalism and the need for mutual intelligibility. He adds, “language is a
major means of showing where we belong, and of distinguishing one social group from another”
(p. 22). Crystal recognizes the close relationship between language preservation and the
community’s attitude towards keeping their language alive.
Conclusion
With the support of British colonialism and the preeminence of the American economy,
English, which once was only a vernacular language, has become the world’s lingua franca.
While a growing number of English speakers seems to threaten minority languages, there have
been and continue to be instances where indigenous languages were revitalized by communities
coming together to fight for their linguistic rights and heritage. Moreover, modern scholars
identify that modern-day English does not follow the historical model of Latin, which split into
several Romance languages, due to printing and communication technology advances today.
Instead, critics such as David Crystal, along with Jan Svartvik and Geoffrey Leech argue that the
future development of English in global context will strengthen multi-dialectalism and give rise
to new form of ‘Englishes’. Although English dominance has had several unfavourable
consequences, the future of English as a global language will serve to connect diverse linguistic
communities.
References
Brinton, L. J., & Arnovick, L. K. (2006). ​The English language: A linguistic history. Don
Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press.

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Crystal, D. (2012). ​English as a Global Language. S.l.: Cambridge University Press.
Fennell, B. A. (2001). ​A history of English: A sociolinguistic approach. Oxford, UK:
Blackwell.
Svartvik, J., & Leech, G. N. (2006). ​English: One tongue, many voices. Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
British Council (2013). ​The English Effect. British Council.
Phillipson, R.. (2001). English for Globalisation or for the World's People?.
International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift Für
Erziehungswissenschaft / Revue Internationale De L'education, ​47(3/4), 185–200.
Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org/stable/3445340
Hamel, R. E. (2005). Language Empires, Linguistic Imperialism, and the Future of
Global Languages. Retrieved from ​http://www.hamel.com.mx/Archivos-PDF /Work in
Progress/2005 Language Empires.pdf