How the English language is taking over the planet

  • Thread starter Thread starter lovethetrade
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it has become the second most spoken language of the world. Around 1500 million people in the world know English and out of them only 375 million people are native speaker.
 
Bethany said:
it has become the second most spoken language of the world. Around 1500 million people in the world know English and out of them only 375 million people are native speaker.
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Doubt English is the "second most spoken". That "1500 million" is likely a huge underestimation.

The reason English is the most spoken language is because it's the international language of finance.
 
A-Trader said:
Very good article. Thanks for sharing @lovethetrade
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Disagree. Not a good article.

The West isn't cramming English down foreigners' throats.

The rest of the world has the choice to ignore English if they want. However, they choose to learn English... because it's the international language of finance. And as such, it's the language in which most of the rest of the world can communite with each other besides native languages.
 
Learning english gives us much more opportunities. If we all speak english - many barriers between people will disappear.
 
Scataphagos said:
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The rest of the world has the choice to ignore English if they want. However, they choose to learn English... because it's the international language of finance. And as such, it's the language in which most of the rest of the world can communite with each other besides native languages.
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I remember going to Norway for a stay-over for 3 months, about 25 years ago. During my time there, I tried to learn the Norge as best I could. But every shoppe I went into and tried to speak the Norwegian, they could hear I was foreign, and heard the American.

"Ja, you are from America"? I would reply yes, and they would continue the whole rest of the engagement in American English. They LOVED trying to speak in English.

Most countries have people who really want to try to learn English because America speaks English. And America=opportunity. That basic tenet is still there, ingrained on the world-view.

While America is currently embroiled in political crap, you have to remember that the momentum started back in the early 1900s with Liberty Island, and the state of the world at that time.
 
You also have to consider interactions between non Americans. Most people I speak English to are not British or Americans but still we need a lingua franca to interact with each other. For a while that was French, then German, now is English and it's hard to see a world where this will change. The grammar also might help a lot, after the torment of German / French declinations and irregular verbs, English is almost unreally simple.
 
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