The Relevance of English in International Diplomacy

English language is not the most widely spoken language in the world in terms of the number of native speakers – there are many more native Chinese speakers than native English speakers but, Chinese is spoken very little outside of Chinese community yet English language has spread all over the world. English did not, like other languages, escape having varieties and the major varieties include, Cockney slang within the British English, Newfoundland English, Anglo-quệbercer within Canadian English, African-America vernacular English (ebonies), Southern-America English within America English and the Bostonian dialect in the United States.

English language is also by international treaty the official language for aircraft/airport and maritime Communication as well as being one of the official language of the European Union (E.U), in the United Nations (U.N) and many International athletic bodies including the Olympic committee.

British Spread of English Language

The worldwide expansion of English language between the 17th century and 20th century was due primarily to British colonialism, which took the English language to North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Australia/New Zealand and the Indian sub-continent. In many former British colonies, English is still used in government and as a medium of communication among people who do not have another language in common. English is often used in India, because it is neutral, is a civil language, and accepted by the society. In Singapore, English is a second language but it is necessary for living because many companies there are using English. Sixteen countries in Africa retain English and standard English is taught in these countries because it is necessary for their careers.

American Spread of English Language

On the other hand, the emergence of the U.S (a former British colony which had adopted English as its official language), as the world’s major superpower over the past sixty years explains why English has eventually become the dominant language of international Business and Science (before that, it was competing with French and German especially in diplomatic and scientific forums). Japan and Korea were both heavily influenced by the U.S. After world war II, Japan was controlled by the U.S.A for a time. The American Military forcibly introduced English and the result was that Korea and Japan also partially adopted the English language. American popular Cultures mainly movies, books and music carries the English language throughout the world and one reason that students give for learning English is to understand these songs, movies and books as American movies are seen in almost every country including even countries where very few people actually use English.