The English Language Survives and Lives on Today

The English language is said to be the universal language of today. It is used as the main intercommunication language throughout the world and is the official language of many countries such as Australia, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also has the role of being a second language throughout many others. English is the prominent international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, diplomacy, and now the internet. The number of people who speak English throughout the world today ranges from 275 to 450 million people as 600 million uses it as their second language and around a billion people are learning it. “One out of every five people on Earth can speak English to some level of competence.”

The Spread of the English “Disease”

Why is English so common and popular in today’s modern world? The influence of the British Empire is the primary reason for the language’s initial spread far beyond the British Isles. The various Native American languages used in the “New World”, which is now North and South America, were replaced by the tongues of settlers and conquering nations. The increased economical and cultural influence of the United States after World War II led the English language to reach other nations and cultures. English is now taught in many foreign countries to schoolchildren. It is most studied in the People’s Republic of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Within the countries where English is the official language, the tongue is spoken with various accents and has also developed its own slang within various regions.

English Takes over Latin’s Place

In the modern world, Latin is considered to be an extinct language or a dead tongue. Today, it is the official language of Vatican City. Latin, along with Greek, was once the lingua franca during the time of the Hellenistic Civilization and Roman Empire and during the Middle Ages. Nowadays, people do not use Latin to communicate with one another. Unlike the popular modern language of English, Latin seemed to have faded within the threads of time. Like many other extinct languages, it became the foundation and parent of the modern Romance Languages which are still used throughout the world. This is similar to how Old English is the parent to Modern English.

Modern English was formed by borrowing words from other languages throughout time while it was also a lender as its own words were shared with others. Just as it has back then, the English language will be introduced to new words and will continue to influence other languages. It will be close to impossible or take a long period of time for this popular language to undergo language death just as Latin did. It will continue to be tainted and used for great importance around the world for many more years to come. In fact, more than 80% of home pages on the Web are in English, while the next greatest, German, has only 4.5% and Japanese 3.1%.

The English Language Giving Birth?

The fact that the English language came about from the colliding of many dialects shows that there is a chance of the birth of a new type of English or maybe a new tongue within future years. As it continues to influence and come in contact with nations and cultures all over the world, it may continue to repeat the role of its own origin and birth. Possibly someday English may collide with an extraterrestrial language and have its own native speakers.

Popularity vs. Origin and Tradition

If English is so popular, why do many people still know very little of its vocabulary and speech? Many countries hold tradition and their roots close. That is what makes them unique and their own country. For the sake of expanding knowledge and reaching positively towards other nations, many countries find that learning English will benefit them although they will never stop using their native tongue. The English and French language, for example, share similar words with one another. Yet France can be considered quite “persnickety” of keeping its purity. Just because English is the official language of the United States does not mean people can not learn another language. In fact, knowing more than one language is seen as a beneficial trait. Within a diverse country like the United States, many languages are spoken and English still plays the factor of unifying the nation.