English

The World’s Biggest Brand

Imagine a brand bigger than Nike, bigger than Gap, bigger than Coca-Cola. Imagine a brand used by 1.5 billion people the world over.

The brand is English.

How did English achieve global dominance? And what does it mean for the future of English and the rest of the world’s languages?

Past

Why English became the number 1 language:

1. Empire

At its height, the British Empire included over one quarter of the world’s population and landmass. “Britain’s colonial expansion established the preconditions for the global use of English, taking the language from its island birthplace to settlements around the world,” says David Graddol, author and Open University lecturer.

2. Adaptibility

“We don’t just borrow words,” says writer James D. Nicoll. “On occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”

The fact that it came into contact with a multitude of other languages turned it into a kind of linguistic mongrel. English “borrowed” (some say stole) words from over 350 other languages, making it richer and more adaptable than other well-established tongues.

3. America

Even as the British Empire declined, the rise of the U.S. as a global superpower ensured that the English language continued on its path to world domination. TV, Hollywood, rock ‘n’ roll, and now the Internet are all foot soldiers in the march of the new lingua franca.