English is a Germanic language (other germanic languages: German, Swedish or Dutch) whose name comes from England, country where it arises. England begins to invade numerous territories and would turn its language into one of the most spoken in and outside of Europe.. For this reason, many countries like Wales, Scotland, Ireland, USA, Jamaica, Canada, India or South Africa have English as their first or mother tongue (L1). However, These have slight variations in vocabulary, pronunciation and accent as a result of contact between 'original' English and its ancient languages or co-official languages. In fact, 67 countries have English as an official language.
It is important to note that English is the language with the most speakers according to the language platform Ethnologue.. Compared to Mandarin Chinese with 1.120 million, English has 1,268 millions of speakers around the world. The funny thing is that English has more speakers of English as a second language (ESL) or as a foreign language (EFL) than native speakers: 898,4 millions of non-natives vs.. 369,7 millions of natives. This means that not only history has contributed to the spread of English, but also its social 'promotion' that has motivated so many people to study this Germanic language..
English has become a language with great social importance. So, from the 19th century with the British Empire and throughout the 20th century due to globalization, English has spread to all corners of the world. This has meant the exclusion of languages such as German, Italian or French, previously associated with art and/or science. It is also important to take into account the United States and the United Kingdom as they are two of the strongest world powers on the planet.. That is why it is their way of doing politics and investigating., and even their music or linguistic expressions (‘oh my god’, ‘cringe’, ‘okay’) They are taken in most countries in the world and they adapt them to their daily lives.. For these reasons, It is said that English is a 'global language'.
Similar to 'English as a global language', Another term to keep in mind is 'English as a lingua franca'. (ELF). This term is understood as English that is used as a common language by speakers with different mother tongues.. This is, For example, a spanish, a Brazilian and a Japanese do not know the languages of the respective speakers. However, These three people have learned English and can communicate and understand each other. This is why English is a useful tool to maintain contact with people from different parts of the world.. And there is more: English is mandatory in the world of aviation: all pilots must speak English while flying.
From what we have seen, English has many advantages: you can travel to many places, you can read books or watch movies from other countries, you can learn about a new culture or you can access more of the 80% of internet information… Despite this, English has a significant disadvantage. Intentionally, the languages of the richest and most dominant countries (English, chino, español) They invade territories whose languages are considered 'less important'. This is why rarely spoken local languages or languages that are more complex to learn are gradually disappearing as a result of the expansion of English. (known as endangered languages). For this, It is essential to encourage a global society where all inhabitants can communicate in English, without forgetting to revive and recover these languages that are about to disappear.
