I read a really cool article in Newsweek about a month ago about the phenomenon that English has become in “recent” years. The numbers are mind-boggling: native English speakers are outnumbered 3 to 1. At this rate, a third of the world population will speak English at least as a second language. Esperanto was supposed to be the international language, but English kicked it into the dirt. There are English language school in puny little towns in Bombay. Go to a world conference and you see executives from Korea, Belgium, Venezuela and Arabia are talking English. And there are hybrids: Japlish, Hinglish, Spanglish (my own favorite)… English is everywhere. In the future, if you don’t speak English, it’s as bad as not using a computer.
That’s music to my own ears, to be sure. Just knowing I’m part of a majority is cool enough. I’m Venezuelan by origin (both my parents are from Caracas), but I’m American by birth: I was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1971. English is also my first language, as I had almost learned Spanish before it. I speak and write (duh) fluent English. And I’m an English teacher here in Caracas. I’ve always loved the language, curse in it, think in it, write in it as much as I can. And like everywhere in the world, speaking English is always a plus when you want a job.
But as I see my adopted first language conquer the world, it feels me with a little unease. Think of the youth in those countries that already speak the language. Hell, if the rest of the world is speaking their language, why should they bother learning any other one? How many young guys out there are taking Italian courses? Spanish? French? Japanese? How many are even caring for anything else than their own culture?
That’s the danger of globalization. One culture grows, the other shrinks. And no, I’m not talking about Asian or Latin American countries losing their identities to all-mighty America. Oh, no. I’m talking about America not caring about the cultures of those countries. Look at it this way: when you invite somebody over, don’t you try and make them feel at home at least for a little while? If they’re far from home, don’t you want them to feel less homesick? If you take the time to give them little details like serving their favorite food, for instance, they feel better. It’s the same globally. You don’t have to learn somebody else’s language, but it’s a nice thimg to do.
May 7, 2005
And the world keeps shrinking
Posted by jaycer17 under Blogroll, comment, criticism, interesting, opinionLeave a Comment
I read a really cool article in Newsweek about a month ago about the phenomenon that English has become in “recent” years. The numbers are mind-boggling: native English speakers are outnumbered 3 to 1. At this rate, a third of the world population will speak English at least as a second language. Esperanto was supposed to be the international language, but English kicked it into the dirt. There are English language school in puny little towns in Bombay. Go to a world conference and you see executives from Korea, Belgium, Venezuela and Arabia are talking English. And there are hybrids: Japlish, Hinglish, Spanglish (my own favorite)… English is everywhere. In the future, if you don’t speak English, it’s as bad as not using a computer.
That’s music to my own ears, to be sure. Just knowing I’m part of a majority is cool enough. I’m Venezuelan by origin (both my parents are from Caracas), but I’m American by birth: I was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1971. English is also my first language, as I had almost learned Spanish before it. I speak and write (duh) fluent English. And I’m an English teacher here in Caracas. I’ve always loved the language, curse in it, think in it, write in it as much as I can. And like everywhere in the world, speaking English is always a plus when you want a job.
But as I see my adopted first language conquer the world, it feels me with a little unease. Think of the youth in those countries that already speak the language. Hell, if the rest of the world is speaking their language, why should they bother learning any other one? How many young guys out there are taking Italian courses? Spanish? French? Japanese? How many are even caring for anything else than their own culture?
That’s the danger of globalization. One culture grows, the other shrinks. And no, I’m not talking about Asian or Latin American countries losing their identities to all-mighty America. Oh, no. I’m talking about America not caring about the cultures of those countries. Look at it this way: when you invite somebody over, don’t you try and make them feel at home at least for a little while? If they’re far from home, don’t you want them to feel less homesick? If you take the time to give them little details like serving their favorite food, for instance, they feel better. It’s the same globally. You don’t have to learn somebody else’s language, but it’s a nice thimg to do.
Plus, you’ll learn something, stupid.
Thanks for peeking into my Mind…