Here are nine reasons why English is the language of the future
It is no secret that the modern world is changing dynamically. Globalization and the latest communication systems transcend visible and invisible borders. Thanks to technological and political transformations, the world is becoming more transparent, flexible and accessible. Today, no one is surprised by the opportunity to travel to any country or communicate with people living on other continents.
However, such communicative infinity requires counter-transformations from a person. In a globalized world, everyone must become globalized. This means the need to cross the borders of one's own culture in order to join the world culture. Some are frightened by such prospects, others find in them an impetus for development.
It is a well-known fact that the carrier and transmitter of culture is language. It spreads the specifics and identity of the people, becomes a means of preserving information about its historical experience and heritage. The culture of a globalized society requires the use of a single language of communication, which would become a kind of "visa" that provides an opportunity to join the world without borders.
There are currently several languages on our planet vying for the status of the common language of the future. More than one and a half billion people speak Chinese, hundreds of millions Spanish, Portuguese, French and other languages. However, the palm of the championship is occupied by English. For more, it is this language that is gaining ground, encouraging people living in a globalized world to study it. Let's try to understand why this happened.
Here are nine reasons why English is the language of the future
Wherever you go, you will find people who speak English anywhere in the world. Why and when did this language become intelligible to people far from each other, such as Britain and French Polynesia? Let's find out.
1. English - the most common language in the world
Researchers estimate that there are currently about 400 million native English speakers in the world. Another 1.6 billion people speak it or more or less understand it. This is more than a quarter of the world's population! So you will always find someone to talk to.
2. The language of international business
World business is managed mainly in the financial centers of Great Britain and the United States. This fact automatically makes English the language of international trade. The probable reason for its use as an international business language is partly due to the fact that English-speaking people are in no hurry to learn other foreign languages. Of course, this is not our problem. We need to be able to find common ground with people all over the world, right?
3. Most movies are made in English
Hollywood is a powerful global entertainment center, so it is only natural that English has become the main language of film production. Of course, movies are often duplicated, but they are best watched in the original language.
4. English is easy enough to learn
Of course, this is a contradictory statement. The ability to learn a language depends primarily on who is learning it. However, there is a common view that English is not the most difficult language to learn in the world. English words are very easy to understand, and their resemblance to words from other languages makes it possible to say that people who speak these languages can see the connection between them and understand how certain words originated in English. And it reminded us that ...
5. English is associated with many other languages
English has a long and fascinating history, which includes wars, invasions and the influences of the cultures of peoples around the world. Modern language includes the legacy of the Romans, Vikings and French. In a sense, English is a hybrid language consisting of Latin, Germanic and Romance elements.
6. You can express your opinion in a hundred different ways
One of the main advantages of English is its flexibility: you can find many ways to explain your own opinion thanks to a large vocabulary. It is estimated that there are more than 750,000 words in English, of course, depending on how you count. According to some estimates, this number reaches 1 million and every year the language is enriched with new and new words.
7. Sounds different around the world
Perhaps one of the most notable features of modern English is the emergence of a variety of its dialects. They were formed both among the inhabitants of English-speaking countries and in Britain. Wherever people use English as their mother tongue, there are ways to speak and write English that have been influenced by cultural and historical events.
8. It's really flexible language
People who study English immediately notice that in this language there are many opportunities to express their opinion in one way or another. This is because English does not limit you - you can use it as you wish. However, countries such as Singapore took this too literally and invented a completely new type of English, Singlish, which absorbed other local languages, such as Chinese and Malay.
9. English keeps on changing
Selfie. Bae (cute - short. From baby). Smasual (mix of smart and casual concepts). All these neologisms are already actively used in the everyday language of people around the world. English, like any other language, continues to evolve, forming new words.
The situation is not limited to the above facts. You can find many more arguments in favor of the fact that the future is in English. It can be studied in different ways: independently, in the state education system or with the help of language courses. In particular, students and instructors of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine have the opportunity to attend foreign language courses conducted by instructors of the Department of English Philology and other professionals.
If you want to learn the language of the future – don’t waste your time!
Translation and introduction by Anton Fomenko,
associate professor of the department of English philology
