首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The Popularity of English I. Present status of English A English as a native/first language B English as a lingua franca: a lang
The Popularity of English I. Present status of English A English as a native/first language B English as a lingua franca: a lang
admin
2019-03-26
39
问题
The Popularity of English
I. Present status of English
A English as a native/first language
B English as a lingua franca: a language for communication
among people whose【T1】______ are different【T1】______
C Number of people speaking English as a first or a second language:
【T2】______ -380 million native speakers【T2】______
250-【T3】______ million speakers of English as a second【T3】______
language
II. Reasons for the popular use of English
A【T4】______ reasons【T4】______
【T5】______ brought the language to America:【T5】______
British settlers brought the language to Australia:
English was used as a means of control in【T6】______【T6】______
B Economic reasons
spread of【T7】______【T7】______
language of communication in the【T8】______【T8】______
C【T9】______ in international travel【T9】______
use of English in travel and tourism
【T10】______【T10】______
language of announcement
language of【T11】______【T11】______
D【T12】______【T12】______
use of English in the academic world
language of【T13】______ or journal articles【T13】______
E Popular culture
pop music on【T14】______【T14】______
films from the USA
III. Questions to think about
A status of English in the future
B【T15】______ of distinct varieties of English【T15】______
【T8】
The Popularity of English
Good morning, everyone!
Today’s lecture is about the popularity of English. As we all know, English is widely used in the world. Although English is not the language with the largest number of native or first language speakers, it has really become a lingua franca. Then what is a lingua franca? The term refers to a language which is widely adopted for communication between two speakers whose native languages are different from each other’s, and where one or both speakers are using it as a second language. For example, when an Indian talks to a Singaporean using English, then English is the lingua franca. Then actually how many people speak English as either a first or a second language? Some researchers suggested a few years ago that between 320 to 380 million people spoke English as a first language and anywhere between 250 to 350 million as a second language. And of course if we include people who are learning English as a foreign language all over the world, that number may increase dramatically.
Then we may ask a question, "How did English get there?" That is "How did English gain the present status of popularity?" There are, in fact, a number of interlocking reasons for the popularity of English as a lingua franca. Many of the reasons are historical, but they also include economic and cultural factors that have influenced and sustained the spread of the language. Let’s go through the reasons one by one. First is the historical reason. This is related to the colonial history. As we know when the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the Massachusetts Coast in 1620 after their journey from England, they brought with them not just a set of the religious beliefs, a pioneering spirit or a desire for colonization, but also their language. Although many years later the Americans broke away from their colonial master, the language of English remained and still does. It was the same in Australia, too. When Commander Phillip planted the British flag in Sidney Cove on the 26th of January, 1788, it was not just a bunch of British convicts and their guardians, but also a language. In other parts of the former British Empire, English rapidly became a unifying or dominating means of control. For example, it became a lingua franca in India where a variety of indigenous languages made the use of any one of them as a whole country system problematic. So the imposition of English as the one language of administration helped maintain the colonizers’ control and power. Thus English travelled around many parts of the world in those days. And long after that colonial power has faded away, it is still widely used as a main or at least an institutional language in countries as far apart as Jamaica and Pakistan, Uganda and New Zealand. That is the first factor.
Now the second major factor in the spread of English has been the spread of commerce throughout the world. The spread of international commerce has taken English along with it. This is the 20th century phenomenon of globalization. Therefore, one of the first sights many travelers see when arriving in countries as diverse as Brazil, China, for example, is the yellow twin-arched sign of a McDonald’s fast food restaurant or some other famous brands’ outlets. And without doubt, English is used as the language of communication in the international business community.
And the third factor related to the popular use of English is the boom in international travel. And you will find that much travel and tourism is carried on around the world in English. Of course, this is not always the case, as the multilingualism of many tourism workers in different countries demonstrate. But a visit to most airports on the globe will show signs not only in the language of that country, but also in English, just as many airline announcements are broadcast in English, too, whatever the language of the country the airport is situated in. So far, English is also the preferred language of air traffic control in many countries and is used widely in sea travel communication.
Another factor has something to do with information exchange around the world. As we all know, a great deal of academic discourse around the world takes place in English. It is often a lingua franca of conferences, for example. And many journal articles in fields as diverse as astronomy, child’s psychology and zoology have English as a kind of default language.
The last factor I cite here concerns popular culture. In the western world at least, English is a dominating language in popular culture. Pop music in English can be heard on many radios. Thus many people who are not English speakers can sing words from their favorite English medium songs. And many people who are regular cinema goers or TV viewers can frequently hear English in subtitled films coming out of the USA.
Now, to sum up, in today’s lecture we have reviewed some of the reasons or factors that lie behind the popular use of English as the No. 1 world language. Before we finish, I would like to leave a few questions for you to think about. Is the status of English as the No. 1 world language assured in the future? Will it split into varieties that become less mutually intelligible? Or will some other language or languages take the place of English as world language in future? These questions are not easy to answer, I know. But they are definitely worth pondering over after the lecture. OK, this brings us to the end of today’s lecture. Thank you for your attention!
选项
答案
international business community
解析
讲座在讲述商业原因时,末尾提到英语成为国际商业圈(international business community)中的交流语言。本题答案可直接从原文中听到。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/fSEK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
AreyouconsideringtravelingtoanativeEnglishspeakingcountrytoimproveyourEnglishlanguagesskillsatalanguagescho
Ifhedidnotcareofhisguests’feelings,hewouldsimplygetupfromhischairandannouncehisdeparture.
Asmanyas40%ofuniversitylanguagedepartmentsarelikelytoclosewithinadecade,theformergovernmentadviserchargedw
Asmanyas40%ofuniversitylanguagedepartmentsarelikelytoclosewithinadecade,theformergovernmentadviserchargedw
Itisaknownfactthatphysicalactivityimprovesoverallhealth.Notonlydoesitimprovecirculation,increasebloodflowto
Familyplanning,afterdecadesofenforcement,istobebasicallychanged,whichmaymakeahugestirinoursociety.Readthee
HomeschoolingI.【T1】_____【T1】______—Require【T2】_____【T2】______—Childwhogetseasilyfrustratedisdifficulttobehomeschoo
Schoolsthroughouttheworldareexperiencingaperiodofrapidchangeand,inmanycases,arefindingthatextremely【M1】______
Congestedcitiesarefastbecomingtesttubesforscientistsstudyingtheimpactoftrafficfumesonthebrain.Asroadwayscho
A、Gymservicesavailablealldaylong.B、Freeyogacourses.C、Yogamatsandballs.D、TheGPSmonitor.B本题考查重要细节。根据句(4—1)可知,凯悦酒店提
随机试题
洗手时,东东突然叫了起来:“洗手液溅进眼睛里了!”这时教师首先应该做的是()
Ⅳ型高脂蛋白血症增加的脂蛋白为
腺毛椭圆形,无柄,腺头由2个半圆形分泌细胞相对组成的药材为
对已经输入但未登记会计账簿的机内记账凭证应提供修改和审核的功能,审核通过后还可以对机内记账凭证进行修改。 ( )
一般而言,基金的风险特征最高的是()。
某服装厂与乙百货公司签订了一份合同。合同约定:由百货公司提供原料,服装厂为其加工成衣1000套,总价款为50万元,百货公司给付服装厂定金1万元。百货公司提供服装图纸,并要求服装厂承担保密责任。双方协商确定,由百货公司于2005年5月底自提货物,验收合格后
加强规章制度正规化建设的核心,就是要尽快建立与国家公务员制度相衔接,与《人民警察法》相配套,体现公安机关特点的公安民警管理制度。()
下图是一副七巧板的示意图,如果整个图形的面积是128平方厘米,那么3,4,5,6四个部分的面积之和是()平方厘米。
根据下列材料回答问题。2006年5月份北京市消费品市场较为活跃,实现社会消费品零售额272.2亿元,创今年历史第二高。据统计,1—5月份全市累计实现社会消费品零售额1312.7亿元,比去年同期增长12.5%。汽车销售继续支持北京消费品市
Nowadays,incominggenerationsreallyrelyonthepowerofthe"Internet"whenitcomestosearchingforinformation.Justtype
最新回复
(
0
)