By: Fernando Guízar Pimentel
English has
unquestionably achieved some sort of global status. Whenever we turn on the
news to find out what is happening in virtually any place, local people are
being interviewed and telling us about it in English. It is also hugely
important as an international language and plays an important part even in
countries where both the UK and the US have historically had little influence.
Nevertheless, it
should come as no surprise that, despite the ever growing number of anglophones
worldwide, studies show that the popularity of the language is decreasing in
the US. One should remember that America is a utterly huge melting pot, where
the immigrant population grows by millions every year. It has turned into an
amazingly diverse collage of cultures from literally every corner of the
world that allows people to exchange their views end influence each other
everyday.
Each time, a larger
percentage of the inhabitants of the US speak English as their second language
or they simply do not at all. But when it comes to discuss if English would
prevail as the world’s foremost language, we should take into account the
popular perception which holds the view that the popularization and the eventual
standardization of the language within the individual national boundaries would
also mean an imposition of an imperialist superpower.
Both Britain and
America are well known for their chauvinistic, self imposing views in regards
to almost any issue. At least, their cultural approach reflects this stance,
disliked by a large number of Europeans and Latin Americans. By contrast, most
Asian countries seem to be fascinated by anything Western; even their aesthetic
canons are shifting according to American standards.
It may be also be
argued that, if English becomes the absolute working language of the world, it
could possibly limit the possibilities when it comes to expression in a
pluralistic context, as almost every nation finds their language as the best
possible way to convey, more than the local issues, their whole
idiosyncrasy.
On the other hand,
it would be unlikely to suppose the substitution of English in a world scale
scheme by an artificial language like Esperanto, even if it would constitute a
politically correct move. Even if it does not enjoy of a tremendous linguistic
prestige, the status of English as the international lingua franca will remain
untouched for a long time and it is not far from being at the peak of its
absolute worldwide usage.
