help for my thesis about using english as a global language.

good morning, i'm new in this forum.i'm italian and i need your help.i'm doing a thesis about using "english as a global language and i have written a questionnarie to analyse some aspects.i will be very happy if you could answer it. this is the questionnaire(you can answer shortly)thank you very much.bye Questions : 1- Why English is the most predominant language nowadays? Why has it become a global language? 2-Many people think the spread of English is related to the economic and political supremacy of U.K and U.S.A.. If another nation will be more powerful in the future, could English lose its prestige as it happened for Latin or French? 3-Can English be considered as a positive factor in the international growth of the economy? Yes… no….. why? 4-Could the “leadership” of English as a “global language” cause a levelling of the culture into a “global” culture, so to become¬ a danger for minority cultures and traditions? Yes…, No…, Why? 5-The spread of English around the world has generated new varieties of English in the different territories where it has taken root. Could this aspect be a loss for international communications? Yes…, No…, Why? 6-Many experts say that the rise of English as a global language has caused the disappearance of minority languages . Is this a loss, according to you? 7- With the spread of English globally, new words and new varieties have emerged. Do you think it could be a serious danger for Standard English? 8- Nowadays the most important requirement in order to get a job is a good competence in English. Could the loss of this requirement be a disadvantage in our society? 9-Has “Internet” influenced the spread of of global English according to you? Will it help English maintain its global influence? 10-Some experts have seen the promotion of English around the world as a neo-imperialist project or as a linguistic discrimininations. What do you think about it? 11-Many European countries, as Italy and France, defend their mother-tongue; many others consider English very important for international communications and relations. Is the role of English in Europe a danger or a resource? 12-Inevitably, the formation of new varieties of English raises the spectre of the possible dissolution of English into new languages as it happened when Latin gave rise to the various Romance languages. Is English in the same danger? 13-Will those who speak English as a native language automatically be in a position of power compared to those who have to learn it as a second or foreign language? 14-Surfing the web I have read how many English, American, Canadian or Australian scholars think that a god knowledge of English is enough for their career. As a matter of fact, when we read a book of an Anglo-saxon writer, the bibliography is only made up of English texts. Is it a disadvantage for writers of books written in another language? Is this a negative aspect? 15-In the past the European Union adopted a “lingua franca”: Esperanto, but this project failed. Could English be the next experiment? 16-Many experts and linguists discuss about the “English question”. What is your opinion about the future of English? Will it remain the world’s language? 17-In many countries the teaching of English as a “foreign language” is compulsory. What do you think about it? What could the consequences be? 18-What is your opinion about learning English nowadays? Is it a way to enrich our culture or merely a way to adapt ourselves to modern society? 19-Can a global language eliminate the motivation for non native speakers to learn such an important language ? And for native students will the presence of their language as “global language” make them lazy about learning other languages or reduce their opportunities to do it?

Wow that's a lot of questions.  I've tried to answer most of your questions in order, although this may sound a little rambly.  The following is all my opinion:

English is the most predominant language because of the economic and political supremacy of the UK and USA, as well as the the fact that English speaking countries export many aspects of language and culture to the world.  If another nation becomes more powerful in globalization than the Anglosphere, then of course English could lose its dominance as what happened to Latin--however we have to remember that Latin never did really die out, it simply evolved into the Romance language, as well as being preserved as a fossilized language for a very long time after it ceased to be a spoken language by native speakers.  Yes, having a sort of "international language" of course is a positive factor in the international growth of the economy.  English being a global language will of course cause a levelling of many cultures into a global culture, but eventually of course, it would simply split up again.  Yes, in fact eventually it is likely (on a large timeframe of course), that English will split up into unintelligible varities.  Of course it is a danger for minority cultures and traditions, however this sort of thing has happened again and again, and is nothing new.  Well, the rise of English as a global language has not contributed to the disappearance of minority languages all that much considering.  It certainly has caused many Native North American languages to be spoken by fewer people, it has decreased the size of the Celtic language community as well, however it has had little effect on displacing modern national languages.  There is no such thing as standard English really.  There is Standard written English and it shows little signs of divergence in all the varieties of it--certainly not enough to inhibit comprehension.  I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the loss of English as being a requirement for getting a job?  To which society are you referring?  The Anglophone countries, or a global, international society.  Yes the Internet thas influenced the spread of English, *as well as other languages.*  It may or may help English maintain its global influence.  Hmm.  A neo-imperialist project, eh?  I think that many would benefit from having a sort of de facto international language.  Esperanto hasn't seemed to have caught on, compared to English.  So, it seems to work... The role of English in Europe in my oppinion is a resource.  There used to be a European language--Latin, but it is no longer in this day and age.  I really think that it is useful to have English.  Of course English is in the same danger of scattering into many vareties, but we have to remember that 1) this process will take a very long time and 2) English is not the national language of countries such as France, Germany, etc.  Instead it is simply a *second* language, and this fact alone will make it less likely to split into other unintelligible languages.  It is possible that those who speak English natively be in a position of power.  The reason that many people from English speaking countries think that English is "good enough" is that the main English speaking countries: the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are separated from other countries by water (with the exception of the US, of course, which borders a non-English speaking country--Mexico).  Especially in English speaking North America, where in many places, one would have to travel thousands of miles to get to non English speaking areas like Mexico and Quebec, as well as the fact that many other countries speak English, anyway, so it lowers the need to learn other languages, plus the fact that you can travel great distances, and only hear English.  Well, English is not an "experiement"--it just seems that it has become the unofficial international means of communication, and has become much more important than Esperanto.  Well as for the future of English: it certainly will remain the dominant language for a long time to come, as the other countries that are growing in power in recent years have very little in the way of a global presence.  As for what will happen to English, I'd say it's almost impossible to predict, because it will remain dominant for a great many years.  It's interesting that English is a compulsory subject in many countries, and that in most English speaking countries, one can choose from a variety of foreign languages to learn.  As for the last question, yes it does seem to make English speakers lazy about learning other languages, but I do believe that there are other factors involved, which I have mentioned above.

Hi,
here are my comments, quick comments. The first thing that comes to my mind...

1- Why English is the most predominant language nowadays? Why has it become a global language? Because most companies that deal with technology or software are in the US. Technology and science = English.
2-Many people think the spread of English is related to the economic and political supremacy of U.K and U.S.A.. If another nation will be more powerful in the future, could English lose its prestige as it happened for Latin or French? 
No, everybody is learning English. I don't think many years ago most people in the world were learning Latin. Plus English is much more simple to teach and learn than any other language.
3-Can English be considered as a positive factor in the international growth of the economy? Yes… no….. why? Yes. Global language = global relationships
4-Could the “leadership” of English as a “global language” cause a levelling of the culture into a “global” culture, so to become¬ a danger for minority cultures and traditions? Yes…, No…, Why? It is already a global culture. Everybody knows Madonna, The Simpsons... they are American. We all know a lot of things about the English speaking world. Now, who knows Vasco Rossi in the world? And Pippo Baudo? They are extremely famous... here. No English = no popularity in the world
5-The spread of English around the world has generated new varieties of English in the different territories where it has taken root. Could this aspect be a loss for international communications? Yes…, No…, Why? No, many varieties, but regional varieties. There will (hopefully) always be a "neutral" variety, the one you'll hear on TV news, main movies, the one you'll read in textbooks, newspapers, most of the internet.
6-Many experts say that the rise of English as a global language has caused the disappearance of minority languages . Is this a loss, according to you? I don't know of any languages that have disappeared because of English as a global language, so I don't know. It could be a loss if they have been replaced by British English. (LOL, kidding)
7- With the spread of English globally, new words and new varieties have emerged. Do you think it could be a serious danger for Standard English? Standard English doesn't exist. "Dude" is a new word, and it's fine, dude.
8- Nowadays the most important requirement in order to get a job is a good competence in English. Could the loss of this requirement be a disadvantage in our society? I don't understand your question.
9-Has “Internet” influenced the spread of of global English according to you? Will it help English maintain its global influence? Yes, and yes. Definitely. The net brings English everywhere, the real net is English. If you don't know English, you are not really using the net.
10-Some experts have seen the promotion of English around the world as a neo-imperialist project or as a linguistic discrimininations. What do you think about it? I don't know. English rulezz.
11-Many European countries, as Italy and France, defend their mother-tongue; many others consider English very important for international communications and relations. Is the role of English in Europe a danger or a resource? Italy doesn't defend its mother tongue, no one knows what's real Italian anymore. In some areas it's not even spoken much. I think that less than 1% of what I say is in Italian, so... English in Europe is a resource, definitely. But they try to teach British English, which is not good. (LOL, kidding)
12-Inevitably, the formation of new varieties of English raises the spectre of the possible dissolution of English into new languages as it happened when Latin gave rise to the various Romance languages. Is English in the same danger? No, there wasn't Internet, blogs, Hollywood, BBC, Associated Press, Madonna, The Simpsons in Latin, when there was Latin. And there weren't billions of schools, teachers, forums, blah blah, to learn Latin. And Latin was not so simple...
13-Will those who speak English as a native language automatically be in a position of power compared to those who have to learn it as a second or foreign language? Yes, damn, I wish I was born in the US, I would have saved a lot of time and I would already be ruling the world by now.
14-Surfing the web I have read how many English, American, Canadian or Australian scholars think that a god knowledge of English is enough for their career. As a matter of fact, when we read a book of an Anglo-saxon writer, the bibliography is only made up of English texts. Is it a disadvantage for writers of books written in another language? Is this a negative aspect? You write in Italian = you write for Italians. You write in English, you write for the world.
15-In the past the European Union adopted a “lingua franca”: Esperanto, but this project failed. Could English be the next experiment? English is already a lingua franca. Well, not exactly, but it'll be so in the near future.
16-Many experts and linguists discuss about the “English question”. What is your opinion about the future of English? Will it remain the world’s language? Probably. Unless we are attacked by aliens, then we will speak some strange language from space.
17-In many countries the teaching of English as a “foreign language” is compulsory. What do you think about it? What could the consequences be? Good.
18-What is your opinion about learning English nowadays? Is it a way to enrich our culture or merely a way to adapt ourselves to modern society? English = communication with the whole world = access to information = culture
19-Can a global language eliminate the motivation for non native speakers to learn such an important language ? And for native students will the presence of their language as “global language” make them lazy about learning other languages or reduce their opportunities to do it? I don't understand the question. If you mean that natives then won't need to learn any language, well, yeah, they won't need. So what should they do? They should teach their language! And for free! Better yet, I'd like to be paid for learning! LOL

That's all. Hope you like my answers

Hi Newforspeed

Welcome to the forums. Anyone with some knowledge of English can tell that you didn't write your questions yourself. Someone else did that for you, but I'll give you some answers anyway.

1. There were only 4.5 million speakers of English in Shakespeare's day. There are three major reasons for English having become what it is.

One: The British exported their language in the colonial days. (Some other languages got exported as well.)

Two: By the time English was taken overseas, it had become extremely simple structurally. Of the languages I have studied and of whose grammar I have some knowledge, English is by far the simplest. This makes it easy for nonnatives to acquire a working knowledge of English even though mastering the language is just as difficult as it is to master any other language. (The only problem is the inconsistent spelling.)


Three: About 100 years ago, the economic rise of the USA began and that contributed to making English number one. It gradually replaced French and Spanish in the western world. These two languages had been more important than English in the 19th century. In Finnish schools English 'dethroned' German in the 1950s, by the way. French remains an important language in diplomacy.

2. Not in the foreseeable future.

3. Economic growth does not depend on language. China has had massive economic growth for years and few Chinese speak English.

4. To some extent, yes. Not all minor cultures will disappear, though.

5. No. The natives will understand each other as well as they do now and the rest of the world will understand each other as well  -  or badly  -  as they do now. Many Brits don't undertand other Brits at the moment.

6. Languages have come and gone before. I can't see why English should be blamed for the disappearance of languages. Many languages die out owing to a lack of speakers, not because these people start to speak English all of a sudden.

7. Not any more than whatever has been a 'danger' before. All living languages have always changed. Nothing living remains constant for hundreds of years. A language that changes is not in danger. Language can take care of itself. For example, in Old English there was only one relative pronoun. That wasn't enough, so other relatives developed. Change doesn't always simplify a language.

8. ?

9. The Internet is one of the factors that promote the use of English.

10. No doubt many native speakers of English delight in the fact that their language is the lingua franca. We have nothing to worry about because of that. Every other English-speaking stranger I talk to has an inferiority complex due to his nonexistent command of other languages.

11. It is neither.

12. I wouldn't call it a danger. It's an inevitability that all languages have always faced and will always face. Nothing lasts forever. We need not worry about that, though, it's too far in the future.

13. No.

14. I wouldn't rate a scholar very high just because he speaks English. A writer who writes in English has a larger audience than one who writes in a small language and therefore he stands a better chance of being recognised. He is more likely to get rich and become famous than other writers.

15. I don't think all nations will want to have just one officia language in the EU.

16. Yes, in the foreseeable future. I think it will have lost some of its importance by the year 5275.

17. It makes sense to teach languages. One of the consequences is the fact that there will be more multilingual people. The more languages people speak, the better they understand one another and foreign cultures.

18. English doesn't enrich my country's culture in the least. English is just a language like many others, it's not a danger.

19. It's understandable that Brits, Americans and Australians  -  New Zealanders as well  -  don't want to spend time learning foreign languages as much as the rest of the world. The teaching of foreign languages is often of abysmal quality in those countries; in some cases the pupils have a better knowledge of the target language than the teacher! One might think that the English-speaking countries would do very well in tests measuring, say, mathematical skills because they don't 'waste' time learning languages. They can devote more time to science in schools.

Cheers
CB

>> There will (hopefully) always be a "neutral" variety, the one you'll hear on TV news <<

There isn't.  Around here TV news uses local pronunciations, even those not generally considered conservative General American.  For example, most newscasters from around here will pronounce "tomorrow" as "tomohrow" rather than "tomahrow".  

>> Italy doesn't defend its mother tongue, no one knows what's real Italian anymore. <<

English speaking countries don't defend the mother tongue either.  We've borrowed hundreds of thousands of terms from Latin and almost every other language on the planet.

>> Probably. Unless we are attacked by aliens, then we will speak some strange language from space. <<

On television shows, the aliens always speak fluent English. : )


>> They can devote more time to science in schools. <<

They could, but they don't.