Do you anticipate English becoming the world's language?

[sayitwell]

I would love for the entire world to speak one language.  Imagine how much easier that would make communication both in person and on the Internet.  I respect the beauty and intricacies of all languages but I value efficiency more.  Do you anticipate English becoming the world's language?  I wouldn't even mind if it was another language that became the world language.  I really think that everyone would benefit in the long run from speaking the same language.

[justusforus]

Some may think it arrogant if English speakers say yes.  I personally love the different sounds and phrasing of other languages.  Diversity is always something that enhances any experience, so I am not sure if I would like just one language although it would simplify some things.

[TABL]

I love languages.  But I agree that it would be great to have ONE language that everyone knows.  And can communicate with. I'm not saying it has to be English, but I feel that that is widely-used language, in different countries already.  But Spanish is well known too.  It would be nice to have such easy communication!

However, I also think same = boring.  It's neat to learn different cultures and languages.

[Czarownica]

I think the only people who actually want something like that are Americans who get pissy when they don't understand something

Not many linguists would support something like that and it would be extremely difficult to implement. Besides, it would mean the eventual death of all the other languages if it was successful. That would be pretty terrible and I hope it will never happen.

[melisapink]

It would be wonderful for the whole world to speak to same language! I am in great doubt that that will ever happen though.

If a language were to be chosen I think that it would be one that was much easier to learn. Also, I think Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world (spoken at least twice as much in the world as English), so they might be the first option. But who knows 

[MyDigitalpoint]

While English is a necessary language in today's world, I don't see English becoming the world's language any time in the short or long-term.

Reason is simple; while each government in countries outside the USA see in America a nation wanting to rule their destiny, chances to get those governments making English an official language are far from being possible.

English may however be a second official language for some, and even can substitute the official one, as happened in Philippines where the official language was Spanish and now is in English.

But those countries with growing, steady economies, or strong national roots, hardly will accept English to rule, Go figure Spain or Germany turning English speaking countries!

In addition in many countries there is a huge educational lag, having a large percentage of illiteracy and people still talking local dialects, how someone can pretend teach them English if they are natives unable (or unwilling) to learn their own country official language?

As a side note, think of Esperanto, which was meant to be the universal language to unify our world.

A dream, because supposed to be so easy to learn, who can actually speak Esperanto here?

[LauraM]

I would not want to see a homogenization of cultures and society for the sake of knowing a common language.  But it would be ideal if we all retained the knowledge and proficiency of our respective native languages, and yet had a common language that we knew and could also speak.  English, as an example, could be that language. 

But this is not likely to happen as it takes time and effort to learn a language, and people have to be highly motivated to learn.  Either that, or take it in school when it is mandatory, but again there must be sufficient motivation to be able to excel and not just scrape by to meet a requirement. 

[Trellum]

I'm a native spanish speaker, I'm fluent both in english and spanish,  but I don't think the english language would be the perfect language for something like this.  Because the native english speakers would have an adventage over the ones who are not!  So I really think the best language for this would be Esperanto, because esperanto was created to make the communication between people from different countries easier!  It's very easy to learn, and it has borrowed several words from different languages.  I think picking Esperanto as the world language would be a more fair pick  

[SayItAll]

I think it would be so great to be able to communicate with everyone!  :grin:  I don't think it would ever come to that though and it wouldn't be as fun if it did. I love all the different languages! If it did come to that one day, I'm not so sure it'd be English because it could be Spanish. You never know.....

[mareebaybay]

I always considered English to be the world's language now. Although if it is not then it soon will be. I mean English is spoken almost everywhere, in every country and continent.

[sayitwell]

I think the only people who actually want something like that are Americans who get pissy when they don't understand something

Not many linguists would support something like that and it would be extremely difficult to implement. Besides, it would mean the eventual death of all the other languages if it was successful. That would be pretty terrible and I hope it will never happen.

I am an American but I want one universal language to improve the efficiency of communication.  I feel like laborers across the world could unite against their capitalist masters if we all had the same language.  It would be a tool of revolution as Karl Marx envisioned.  I know that linguists would not support it but their concerns are secondary to justice and efficiency.

[ghanashyam]

I would love for the entire world to speak one language.  Imagine how much easier that would make communication both in person and on the Internet.  I respect the beauty and intricacies of all languages but I value efficiency more.  Do you anticipate English becoming the world's language?  I wouldn't even mind if it was another language that became the world language.  I really think that everyone would benefit in the long run from speaking the same language.

But it is already a language spoken in most countries of world and I assure you shall still have difficulty in understanding it because of the local accent that people brand. The English not only is spoken differently in different countries but even some local words would come to play. For example,

what will you make of this. "Throw it in Kachara peti." ( Throw it in waste paper basket.)

[rgaz83]

I would hate for all languages but one to go extinct. Every time a language goes extinct, a small portion of the way that people once viewed the world is lost. Who is to say that one worldview is better than another?

If everyone spoke a language + a worldwide language, that could work. I also agree that something like Esperanto would be best for this, even if it isn't the ideal solution.

[sayitwell]

I would hate for all languages but one to go extinct. Every time a language goes extinct, a small portion of the way that people once viewed the world is lost. Who is to say that one worldview is better than another?

If everyone spoke a language + a worldwide language, that could work. I also agree that something like Esperanto would be best for this, even if it isn't the ideal solution.

Why are you tying a world view to a language?  Language is a means of communication.  It's not an ideology.  There might be certain inherent prejudicial tones in language but it does not constitute a world view.  I'm not saying that all languages have to go extinct.  I'm saying that it would be ideal if everyone knew how to speak one language.  Learn as many as you want but make sure that you know the "common language", whatever we eventually decide it to be.

[lizbeth19hph]

English is already the universal language and not just a world language first and foremost. I believe it would benefit all if we will just speak one language like we used to do before men built the Tower of Babel. One language, one world=peace.

[Daimashin]

Isn't English already an international language? Isn't that enough? Wanting English to be a world language where everyone on earth have to use it seems a bit greedy. It's good to be able to understand each other anywhere in the world but we shouldn't neglect what's ours. The languages that made us who we are.

[Eudora13]

It would be really convenient if the world understood and could speak in one universal language. And yes, I do anticipate English becoming THE language of the world someday, not because I have any personal attachment to it or anything, but simply because every nation knows this language in some degree or the other.

But that said, I wouldn't want English or any one language to eradicate all other tongues. There's a reason why we travel to different places and experience different cultures, and language forms one of the most important parts of any nation's culture. Imagine if the present diversity were lost. I'd hate that! In fact, I think every person should learn as many languages as they can and make efforts to keep obscure tongues from getting completely lost.

[CyberGenius]

Well, just like Eudora13 pointed out, in almost every society there is a sizable number of people who understand and can speak the English Language. Isn't it even funny that in a country with different tribes and local tongues, most people understand English than they do the language of the other tribes not too far from them?

I believe it's only normal and making sense that we all have a language[English] that we can all communicate in. That way anyone can go down south, and they'd still be able to communicate. You can go up north and still be able to communicate. I can go far away east and still be able to communicate. Personally, I see having English as a global language a good thing because I'm from a country with people of diverse culture and without English it wouldn't have been easy communicating with people that don't have the same mother tongue as mine.

However, just like everything there's always a downside; The downside here is making sure that English do not wipe out people's culture(language) as I've seen that happened. But, it's mostly the people's fault, when they start deeming their own language as inferior.

[devilishomar]

As a matter of fact, yes I do. It's only competitor is Chinese which in my opinion will not be able to stand up against English in the end. Statistically, English is a much easier language for people to learn (though some would argue every first language is of equal difficulty) so I would argue it will become the world's standard very soon.

It would be great if we are able to accomplish this. I imagine it would bring the world closer together.

[melaniephenderson]

No, I don't think that there will ever be just one language in the world spoken. Everybody around the world is proud of their own language and culture and rightfully should be. I don't see why everybody should have to give up part of their national identity to fit into some 'ideal' one language oriented world.

I do think that English is already extremely globalised and that it is the main language used to communicate already on an international basis. In almost every country in the world it is compulsory to study English, so if there is already such a huge widespread use of English I don't think that there's a huge need to make everybody primarily speak English.

I think that everybody around the world should take the opportunity to learn more than one language rather than rely on people to know their own.

[CrownedClown]

No, I don't think that there will ever be just one language in the world spoken. Everybody around the world is proud of their own language and culture and rightfully should be. I don't see why everybody should have to give up part of their national identity to fit into some 'ideal' one language oriented world.

I do think that English is already extremely globalised and that it is the main language used to communicate already on an international basis. In almost every country in the world it is compulsory to study English, so if there is already such a huge widespread use of English I don't think that there's a huge need to make everybody primarily speak English.

I think that everybody around the world should take the opportunity to learn more than one language rather than rely on people to know their own.

I completely agree. There are a lot of nations who are proud of their history and language and I doubt that they will ever change it.

There is also the problem of pronunciation. A good example is the asian countries. As you know most of the people in Asia have difficulties speaking(vocally) proper English which is a result of the difference in the sounds their languages have and the English language have. To fix that problem alone will probably take at least 20-30 years or to be more precise 1 possiby 2 generations to erase that issue.

By the way I don't know about other languages, but in my mother language people are using more then I'd like to hear English words in everyday speech. I have nothing against it, but why would you use a word which the person you are talking to might not know when there is a simpler and more accurate word...

[andre-nunes]

To be fair English is already the worlds' language, it's uses extend from political events, business meetings, video-games, movies, music and so on. English is the lingua franca for most worldwide events where participants do not share the same native language.

Why this happened? Well, first the British empire was huge and present everywhere, this helped the language spread across the 5 continents as a language used mostly for trading and bargaining . More recently with the rise of the USA as a World Superpower almost every piece of culture or product or service is presented in English as the original language, which makes the language very valuable to learn. That's why it is taught in school on most of the world's developed countries.

[PSLoveCharli]

I do think the English language should be THE primary language in the world. Meaning that everyone regardless of where the person is from, should know English. I guess you can say that I do anticipate it. Spanish or French should be second.

[rodserd]

I don't think English will remain the "universal" language.  I think the prevalence of the British empire started it, and America's economic power perpetuated it, but with China and India becoming larger and larger world players economically, I don't think English will remain the dominant language forever.

[pandandesign]

I think English has become the world's language. There are almost everyone tries to learn English sometime in their life, which I think English is the primary language in the universe. English has become the language for a lot of things such as communication, international business, and so on.