English language

Alraund the world, they are many countries that speak English.

The reasons.

 The British Empire.

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35,500,000 km2 (13,700,000 sq mi), 24% of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, the phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" was often used to describe the British Empire, because its expanse around the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.

Post-War USA.

The world after the first two world wars was a vulnerable and changing one. American businesses were booming and started doing trade all over the world, much like Great Britain had done in the previous century. This bolstered the use of English as the language of global trade. But at the same time, American culture was being exported heavily through music and film. The advent of jazz, rock n’ roll and other popular music from both the USA and UK infiltrated the culture of people everywhere, making English more than just the language of business, but the language of entertainment for the masses.  Hollywood was also booming with popular films exported worldwide, and then in the 1960’s the counter-culture movement arrived with social change and the hippie movement sweeping across the USA and Europe. 

Popular Culture.

Popular culture (or "pop culture") refers in general to the traditions and material culture of a particular society. In the modern West, pop culture refers to cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that are consumed by the majority of a society's population.

The Rise of Popular Culture

Scholars trace the origins of the rise of popular culture to the creation of the middle class generated by the Industrial Revolution. People who were configured into working classes and moved into urban environments far from their traditional farming life began creating their own culture to share with their co-workers, as a part of separating from their parents and bosses.

After the end of World War II, innovations in mass media led to significant cultural and social changes in the west. At the same time, capitalism, specifically the need to generate profits, took on the role of marketing: newly invented goods were being marketed to different classes. The meaning of popular culture then began to merge with that of mass culture, consumer culture, image culture, media culture, and culture created by manufacturers for mass consumption.

 Technology.

At the same time that the USA was becoming the world’s business superpower, the internet was also invented in the USA. This created an entire lexicon for computers and technology that was invented in English. Computer keyboards are suited for writing languages using the Latin alphabet, and the hardware for all our smart technology uses English words that have become commonly used around the world, as there was no other alternative in place when the technology spread like fire to the corners of the Earth. The world of science is also dominated by English for much the same reason: historically, universities publishing important research were doing so in English, and as a scientist today, any serious publication must be done in English. With science and technology playing such a big role in our lives today, English won’t be going anywhere soon.

Domino effect or The snowball effect.

Now that English is so widespread across the internet, on the radio, in schools and in the business world, it is hard to escape.

It is well known that in order to get a good job in today’s global market, speaking English is becoming a requirement more often than not. That’s why students and more adults than ever are taking private lessons, taking language immersion holidays and studying English to become as fluent as they can. It is not a guarantee of success, but it certainly does help!

About English language

English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in Anglo-Saxon England in the early Middle Ages. It is spoken in many countries around the world. Anglophone countries include the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and a number of Caribbean nations. There are about 375 million native speakers (people who use English as their first language), which is the largest after Mandarin and Spanish. About 220 million more people use it as their second language. It is often used in work and travel, and there are at least a billion people who are learning it. This makes English the second most spoken language, and the most international language in the world.

English has changed and developed over time. The most obvious changes are the many words taken from Latin and French. English grammar has also become very different from other Germanic languages, without becoming much like Romance languages. Because nearly 60% of the vocabulary comes from Latin, English is sometimes called the most Latin of the Germanic languages, and is often mistaken for being a Romance language.

-Gonzalez Garcia Benjamin