The Spread Of A Global Language Such As English Will Threaten National Languages | Band 9 Essay

Sample essay

Some people insist that the popularity of a universal language like English will eventually lead to the demise of national languages and local dialects. I do not see this happening.

It is true that English is now widely used all over the world. Actually, it is the link language – the language that people use when they are abroad to converse with the local people. If you speak English, you can now travel all over the world without experiencing any difficulty. You can also travel to countries where English is not the primary language. You will find some people fluent in English there as well. English is also the language that government officials and business people use to converse with their counterparts in another country. What’s more, much of the content on the internet is in English. Nearly all research papers and scientific journals are also in English.   

Still, I do not believe that English will destroy other languages. People whose mother tongue is not English only use it for official purposes. At home, they speak their mother tongue. They continue to watch movies and read books and newspapers in their local language. For example, in India, hundreds of languages are spoken. None of these languages are facing the threat of extinction. Actually, they are thriving. India, interestingly, has the highest population of non-native speakers of English. Many Indian students now go to schools where English is the medium of instruction. However, they still use their mother tongue for conversing with their friends. The situation in other countries is unlikely to be different. Our mother tongue comes naturally to us. No effort is required to acquire it. That is not the case with a foreign language. We have to make a lot of effort to learn it. Still, we may not acquire fluency. Because of this difficulty associated with acquiring a foreign language, people will never stop using their mother language.

In conclusion, it is true that English is a global language with more speakers than any other language. However, non-native speakers only use English for the purpose of their studies and work. For everyday communication, they still use their mother tongue and hence I do not believe that English will lead to the death of other languages.  

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