By Sean Lin With the rise of the British Empire in the 19th century and that of the United States in the 20th century, the language we know as English, a descendant of the Germanic tongue brought to Britain by Angles and Saxons, has evolved into the de facto or sometimes even de jure lingua franca of almost every field of human activity. For many people, it has also become the “global language,” the ultimate communication tool that they believe can help bridge the vast gap between speakers of different countries and cultures. Some skeptics, on the other hand, voice grave reservations, not about the extent of the power of this dominant language, but about its destructive impact on linguistic and cultural diversity. Nevertheless, artificial dichotomies are usually misleading, if not dangerous. No conclusion should be drawn before we take a closer look at the many sides of the story, for English, no longer just the language of a people or a nation, has grown much larger than any ideological frame can possibly contain. Complete mutual understanding is a dream that has often been attempted but never fulfilled. For centuries, emperors, merchants, scholars, and utopians have longed for an ideal lingua franca, an auxiliary language that could facilitate provincial administration, boost international trade, promote knowledge exchange, and even bring peace. There emerged several common languages throughout history, such as Classical Chinese, which has now faded into oblivion, and even some artificial languages that were born with a grand mission, most notably Esperanto. At the turn of the 20th century, French and German were as dominant as English, but they fell into decline after two catastrophic World Wars. Remaining unrivalled and even unchallenged throughout the entire second half of the 20th century, English has established supremacy in countless fields and has dwarfed its predecessors’ achievements, even Latin. It is now the language in which over 90 percent of academic papers in the sciences (and 75 percent in the humanities) are published; it is now the language in which the majority of international financial transactions and diplomatic negotiations are conducted; it is now the language in which the most popular films and pop songs are produced. An endless learning fever, if not panic, sweeps the world, and English has become an essential part of the school curriculum in numerous countries. As a result, non-native speakers greatly outnumber native speakers by three times, a phenomenon unprecedented in human history. It seems to some people that this language is the messiah that will realize a long-unfulfilled dream called mutual understanding.
This romantic fantasy, however, is regarded by some scholars as a dangerous illusion that conceals a dreadful truth that people are either unable or unwilling to see. They argue that the dominance of English is not a natural product of any intrinsic merit in the language itself, but the direct consequence of the enduring economic, political, and military dominance of the United States, the sole remaining superpower. They therefore argue that the spread of English is actually a form of linguistic imperialism under the guise of globalization. The United States, these scholars believe, continues to impose its culture and worldview through its language on less powerful countries, so as to establish American values and ideologies as the accepted norm, as if they were natural and universal, thus legitimizing its socio-economic exploitation and eventually maximizing its benefits. In addition, the dominance of English is achieved at the expense of linguistic diversity, the maintenance of which is believed by UNESCO to be necessary for humankind. Numerous endangered languages, including Native American languages in the United States, are now on the verge of extinction, for speakers are forced to shift to English in order to assimilate into mainstream society. Furthermore, non-native English speakers are often placed at a significant disadvantage, by which native speakers, unwittingly or not, consolidate an already asymmetrical power structure and reinforce inequalities. This fear has even begun to haunt speakers of some of the commonest and supposedly most secure languages, inspiring them to lobby against the ongoing expansion of English. France passed the famous Loi Toubon in 1994, which mandates the use of the French language in various contexts, in response to the rapidly growing presence of English and Anglicisms across the nation. Quebec has passed similar laws, which not only grant French an official status but also establish its primacy in the province. This fear is not exclusive to the francophone sphere. Germany, despite being the greatest economy and the most politically influential power in the European Union, has seen some heated debates over whether to implement language policies to preserve German to oppose the encroachment of English in all domains and its prevalence among younger generations. They claim that their efforts are not just stubborn resistance to the enormous influence of the United States, but drastic measures to preserve their linguistic and cultural heritage. Many advocates of English, by contrast, believe that all this pessimistic fear, if not paranoia, is unfounded and unnecessary. They welcome the timely arrival of English in an era characterized by rapid information dissemination, lingering economic uncertainty, and profound cultural misunderstanding. The spread of English, from their perspective, is largely of a benign nature, for it serves to accelerate the spread of knowledge, enhance growth prospects in a global economy, and foster international and intercultural understanding among diverse speakers in the cosmopolitan environment of modern times. The introduction of English to non-English-speaking countries, they argue, is not meant to marginalize or even replace local languages, since English functions merely as a useful auxiliary language. Whether this argument is convincing or not, it is difficult to deny that English has been embraced by many people and is in burgeoning demand. Proficiency in English is now a fashionable prerequisite for many job positions; courses on English or courses conducted in English, especially in non-English-speaking countries, are often among the most sought-after ones; numerous international corporations and nonprofit organizations have chosen English as their primary working language. Moreover, some proponents of English even claim that people should not try to change the natural course languages are supposed to follow, since, admittedly, not all languages can survive after competition: some will endure, while others will perish. This is, after all, the fate of all things. Any attempts to stop the wheel of history are doomed to failure. Nonetheless, when people occupy themselves with the debate over whether to embrace or resist English, other things are happening inside the language itself. Although the global spread of the Anglo-Saxon tongue is often seen by some as a form of neocolonialism, this ever-changing and inclusive language has developed into many variants, or Englishes, around the world, and some of them have begun to strike back at their origins. Linguistic purists often express their concern about the deterioration of English resulting from both foreign and domestic influences and advocate the rescue of their supposedly beautiful and elegant language. They are not alone in believing in the importance of maintaining the regularity of their language. Anyone who looks back at history will find that considerable effort was devoted to the standardization of English, the most prominent examples being the King James Bible and dictionaries by Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster. Even though these works systematically shaped and established the appearance of the language we recognize today, English continues to absorb elements from other languages and to evolve constantly as a living organism. People have thus begun to question the legitimacy of certain speakers’ right to define what “Proper English” is. Who has the final say in how to speak English? Is it the president of the United States, the monarch of the United Kingdom, or the lexicographers of the most prestigious dictionaries? Much to the consternation of linguistic purists, some users of English have come to realize that there is no such thing as the ownership of English, and every speaker, for better or worse, is entitled to participate in shaping the language. Some of them even go so far to believe that if English really is the lingua franca of our times, a role Latin used to play, then perhaps all English variants will develop into local vernaculars that reflect their own unique spirit. A new Renaissance, perchance not too far in the future, will arrive in every continent. English has come a long way, far beyond anyone’s imagination or expectation. Regardless of which view one endorses, the tremendous influence English wields on almost every corner of the world is generally acknowledged. Be it good or bad, English is now the language in which the destiny of the earth is determined and recorded. Although history has taught us that nothing in the world is everlasting, as we see the decline of many empires and many languages, English will nevertheless continue to dominate the globe in the foreseeable future. a
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May 2024
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