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Essay / Is English a global language? - 914
English is the world language today. There is much controversy surrounding this view. Although there are positive results, the negative results outweigh them to some extent, because it means that many languages will disappear. As a global lingua franca, English has the power to enhance communication between individuals, being particularly favorable and conducive in the field of economics and commerce. Despite this, it has consistently been the substrate for the death of many other languages, thereby posing a threat to the identity and value of language and culture. English is the only global language and other languages cannot compete with it. Thus, many languages will disappear. Although there are negative factors associated with this, there are also positive factors. The English language is recognized by people all over the world and spoken by many. In a number of countries, it is established as a second language. By having only one international language without any other living languages, communication will be more efficient and free from misunderstandings and bad translations, as everyone will be able to understand each other effectively. Crystal argues: “Perhaps a global language…will make all other languages useless. A person only needs one language to speak to someone else” (2003, p. 15). While the English language is used more and more by people across the world, other languages are spoken less and less and will eventually cease to exist because English has dominated the globe on such a prodigious scale that there will be no need for other languages since everyone will communicate. In English. This is consensual in the sense that if an individual travels to a foreign country, they will be able to communicate with the medium of paper... and be strong enough to prevent it. School children who are taught in English, which is not their first language, may speak it at home and to their families who may not understand English to the same extent. Ultimately, this can slowly lead to a loss of language and culture. English is the global language today. There is much controversy surrounding this view. Although there are positive results, the negative results outweigh them to some extent, because it means that many languages will disappear. As a global lingua franca, English has the power to enhance communication between individuals, being particularly favorable and conducive in the field of economics and commerce. Despite this, it has consistently been the substrate for the death of many other languages, thereby posing a threat to identity, as well as the value of language and culture...