Across the world

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact start of the English language’s rise to its current status of fame and fortune, but historians and linguists often link it to coincide with the start of the British Empire and colonization of parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas. English is the mother tongue of Great Britain, the United States of America, Ireland and many countries formerly gathered under the British crown. English is not, however, the world language with the most native speakers, but rather the one with the most total speakers (Svartvik, 1999). The global spread of English has quickly surpassed that of former power languages such as French and Latin.

English is not only the language of Shakespeare and Mark Twain; it is the language used around the world in air traffic control, travel, movies, music, business, science and technology. English is being used more and more frequently in the inter-communication between two, three or more non-native speakers; that is to say, the world is using English to communicate with each other, not just with America, England, and other countries where English is native (Smith, 1983). Although English continues to be the cultural language of native speakers, it has lost its cultural baggage abroad. It is commonplace to discuss politics in English without regard to the British or American standpoint and possible to protest, in English, against the influence of English upon one’s native tongue.