What was the reason for English becoming one of the most dominant languages on earth? Is English one of the reasons for the extinction of languages? Will English surpass all the other languages? Let’s dive deep into how English became one of the prominent languages on earth.
British Empire
The British were one of the largest empires on earth; they almost conquered twenty-five percent of the world. Countries of various continents, the British left their mark on every continent. They established their rule in other countries to show how powerful they were.
In order to establish their dominance, they used language to conquer people. Language is one of the identities of any country. A language is a tool for people but the British misused it and established their language as premium which is English to make them feel how powerful they are.
Many African countries, Asian countries were forced into slavery and learning English to understand the British empire.
Secondly, the impact of the second world war was the allies countries including the United States and the United Kingdom who were English-speaking countries. The United States became the most powerful country in the world after the second world war and to engage with the most powerful, we need to know their English language. Hence, English proliferated in every country.
Situation in India
The British ruled India for two hundred years. They were gone but their language was not forgotten. After the Independence when the constitution was being established there was debate among the states as the new states were formed from princely states based on language.
As they decided to keep Hindi as the official language there was debate among south Indian states and north India that Hindi is the language of north Indians and if they had Hindi as the official language they would separate and form their nation.
After long discussions and controversies, the government decided to keep Hindi and English both as official languages. The administration can also use their regional language for written work. Now almost all the work is done in English.
The Rise of the USA
After the second world war, the USA rose to one of the most powerful countries. World war two affected the United Kingdom as well as Japan with a nuclear attack. Every developing country or developed country was consulting the USA in terms of financial matters and expansion of companies in developing countries.
Mass production of cars and launching of the world bank to provide loans to developing countries for upliftment. Introducing new technology for enhancement has taken birth in the USA.
We see Microsoft, Google, Apple are new technologies developed which require language to understand. Most of the technologies developed require English to be understood. That’s why the English conquered the rest of the world.
English required in education and jobs
After independence, many Indians left the country in search of jobs in other countries. Indians back then migrated or went abroad for further education. As America is open to migrants many people come to America in search of education and other opportunities. To adjust to the environment immigrants have to learn English to survive there.
Currently, many Indians who go abroad require English as a compulsory language there.
In India to teach their students English the Indian Education system has introduced English in every subject except language subjects so that students can understand and speak English.
After the 1990's many Multinational Conglomerates established their offices in our country where people mostly speak English to make communication better. So English became an integral part of people's lives.
English is cool (Conclusion)
In present times English is no longer the language of elites, it's now a very common and universal language. It is present in movies, in our daily lives. English has dominated every country but now the problem comes whether to learn English people don’t forget their language and their ethnicity.
Written by Ananya Birla
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