Summary-Response Essay
“Why English Should Not Be the International Language of the Wolrld”
Hao Guo James
OLGA KnarytonavaBoost (cohort 6)
Western’s English Language Centre
Western University
July 23?2018
Word count:1001
Through the world globalization, a great number of countries connect to each other for business and politics. It is like a process that people cooperate with others, those scattered fragments combine into an entirety. A conflict existed is that people are arguing which can be the global language, some say English should not be Global Language, Some doubt their claims. From my own view, English has the weakness that it can’t express some meaning accurately, it will make people forget to learn their native language so that the culture of their countries will disappear. Author: Robert, Nielsen, Title: Why English Should Not Be The International Language Of The World. Maid idea is that people should not treat English as the International Language of the world, the best option or solution is to speak Esperanto because it is the only choice to offer people a fair world without any cultural language advantage. In my opinion, I agree with English should not be the international language of the world. However, it is difficult to spread Esperanto into people’s life. So it is unnecessary to introduce Esperanto to people.
This article Adapted from the author’s blog: Whistling the Wind, Author: Robert, Nielsen, Date: February, 2015, Main idea: English should not be the international language of the world, Esperanto is the only option that offers us hope of a fair and equal world without anyone language or culture dominating. Robert, Nielsen is trying to tell people studying English is not an easy thing. If you use that as an international language, the rest of people don’t have mother language-English will spend a great amount of time and money studying English. It is unfair to those people who need to study English again. Sometimes, people forced to study English because their homeland was invaded. Although you still live in your hometown, it is hard for you to study the language of enemies. Moreover, we should not ask the rest of the people to study English when we don’t study their primary language. It is unfair to them to study our language when they have already known one language. For those people who don’t have the first language as English, language becomes the barrier when they seek their job they are interested. In contrast, those people who understood English since they born have the congenital advantage than people who don’t speak English at first. The system designed is unfair and irrational. Even you treat English as the international language then people speak the same conversation and the same films. This will make their own identity disappear, diversity of the world will become narrow and small. Also, the limiting of language will make us ignore the idea and creative thinking we haven’t noticed before. The first we can do is to leave it alone and prey it can spread itself. The second is to understand several languages to make sure you can use them. At last, the best option is to study Esperanto to avoid conflict and unfair condition. In summary, Robert, Nielsen wants people not to treat English as the international language but also to study Esperanto to create a fair environment for people to compete and live.
First of all, author Robert, Nielsen said ” We would lose a huge amount of the diversity in the world, a huge part of what makes us unique, what makes us who we are” in the article: “Why English Should Not Be The International Language Of The World”. I agree with the point author stated in the paragraph. Said (2011) queries, “Is there a double-function for English, one of need and the other of resentment perhaps?” (p. 201). English has two sides of effect, although we can’t deny it is useful in the worldwide. It still can destroy the original culture of some countries. For example, English become the international language, primary school, and middle school start to teach students English a lot than before. The frequency they use English becomes more and more, their native language was ignored. The culture related to their language was abandoned. Also, in 2008, the UAE government felt it necessary to reaffirm that Arabic is the “official language of all federal authorities and establishments” (Al Baik, 2008, cited in Badry, 2011, p. 91). As we can see that Arabic restarted to apply their own language to the international language to avoid the disadvantages of English as an international language.
In addition, English has its own weakness that people can’t use English to express what they really want to say in some time. For example, In China, there are lots of poems existed in the society which could not be expressed well in English. Only Chinese can explain them accurately. Once English held to the international language, children spend less time studying Chinese, the culture of China was forgot slowly through the time went by. It not only may make a child lose the motivation studying their native language but also they can’t use English to express the meaning of words correctly. According to Williams (1976, cited in Hawthorn, 2000, p. 63) culture is “one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language”, making it “notoriously difficult to define” (Spencer-Oatey & Franklin, 2009, p. 13). As Kramsch (1998) states, “Language is the principal means whereby we conduct our social lives. When it is used in contexts of communication, it is bound up with culture in multiple and complex ways” (p. 3).
In conclusion, as I mention two points, English should not be the international language because it will make the loss of culture and identity. People may not recognize themselves well after English become the international language. Moreover, English can’t express all meanings clearly and correctly. In some areas, people can only use their native language to introduce the meaning of words, if they use English, it will create misunderstanding and mistakes. It is better not to use English as the international language because of the two points I claim.
Reference
Said, F. F. (2011). Ahyaan I text in English ‘ashaan it’s ashal’: Language in crisis or linguistic development? The case of how Gulf Arabs perceive the future of their language, culture and identity.In A. Al-Issa & L. S. Dahan (Eds.),Global English and Arabic(pp.179-212). Bern: Peter Lang.
Badry, F. (2011). Appropriating English: Language in identity construction in the United Arab Emirates. In A. Al-Issa & L. S. Dahan (Eds.),Global English and Arabic(pp. 81-122). Bern: Peter Lang.
According to Williams (1976, cited in Hawthorn, 2000, p. 63) culture is “one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language”, making it “notoriously difficult to define” (Spencer-Oatey & Franklin, 2009, p. 13)
Kramsch, C. (1998).
Language and culture
. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
