What language is considered international in the world. Official languages ​​of the UN. What languages ​​are official at the UN

Signs of an international language

Languages ​​considered international have the following characteristics:

• A large number of people consider this language to be their mother tongue.
• Among those for whom this language is not native, there are a large number of people who speak it as a foreign or second language.
• This language is spoken in many countries, on several continents and in different cultural circles.
• In many countries this language is studied at school as a foreign language.
• This language is used as an official language by international organizations, at international conferences and in large international firms.

History of international languages

Languages ​​of world importance

Modern international languages ​​are considered [ by whom?] (in descending order of the total number of speakers):

Map of the distribution of international languages

The maps show the distribution of each international language.

UN official languages

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "International Language" is in other dictionaries:

international language- Language used for international communication (English, Russian and other languages). The language has crossed its own ethnic and territorial threshold. TEL and are trans-ethnic languages. They can be used as auxiliary languages ​​up to ... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms T.V. Foal

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE. Currently under M. yaz. usually understood as an artificial language. with an extremely simplified grammar and an internationalized vocabulary, compiled with the aim of facilitating the oral and written communication of multilingual peoples ... Literary Encyclopedia

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE- INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE. The language of interstate communication, the language that is used in major international organizations (UN, UNESCO) ...

international language- A language that is used as a means of communication between different states. M.I. are ethnic languages, i.e., in their primary and main function, this is a means of communication of a certain ethnic group, a native (mother) language for people, ... ...

international language- 1. An artificial auxiliary language, offered as a means of interethnic communication. 2. The natural language used by the peoples of many countries of the world as a means of interethnic communication. 3. Socio-linguistic education, advanced in ... ...

Language ( for the most part artificial, that is, invented by one person, not formed in a natural way), on which all civilized peoples could communicate with each other in writing and orally. By adopting such a language, the need for... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL- LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL. See international language... New dictionary methodological terms and concepts (theory and practice of teaching languages)

INTERNATIONAL, international, international. 1. International, extending to several or all peoples, not limited to one people. "... international significance the new Constitution of the USSR can hardly be overestimated." Stalin ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Intermediary language- 1. The language of international communication. For example, Japanese language includes English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, French and having the status of UN working languages. 2. Any language that is used as a means of communication in a situation ... ... Dictionary of sociolinguistic terms

language of international communication- see international language... Explanatory Translation Dictionary

Books

• Aros is a new international language. Complete grammar. Russian-Aros Dictionary, R. F. Avramchenko. The book presents a new artificial language designed for universal international application. The language is full-fledged, at the level of the most developed national languages. Usage…

In our age of globalization and accelerating the pace of information transfer, the issue of unifying international communication is becoming increasingly relevant. What language currently claims to be the "No. 1 language" in the world? In this article I will try to answer this interesting question.

By definition, an international language is a language that is used for communication by a significant number of people around the world. There are several criteria for an international language:

1. Quite a lot of people consider him native.
2. Quite a lot of people study it as a foreign or as a second language.
3. This language is spoken in many countries and on different continents.
4. This language is used in international organizations and companies, as well as at international conferences as an official one.

These criteria must be applied comprehensively. For example, consider the top 10 languages ​​in the world in terms of the number of people for whom they are native (according to data latest version Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia):

1. Chinese: 1.3 billion people
2. Arabic 0.5 billion people
3. Hindi 400 million
4. English 350 million
5. Spanish 320 million
6. Indonesian 240 million
7. Bengali 207 million
8. Portuguese 175 million
9. Russian 170 million
10. Japanese 125 million

Can these languages ​​be considered international? As you know, a significant proportion of the most densely populated regions of the planet is located in economically backward countries. Figuratively speaking, their inhabitants have “nothing to say” to the world at the level of global exchange of current and useful information. As a consequence, some languages, despite the colossal number of speakers, cannot be classified as international because they do not meet three of the four criteria listed above. Undoubtedly, only a language can be international, the knowledge of which is constantly important for business relations and cultural development both individuals and entire nations.

The second criterion of an international language points to desire of a large number of people in different countries oh and on different continents to study given language . Why is it so important? For example, Esperanto, a language created for international communication, is mastered by a few enthusiasts, and English is included in the school curriculum in many countries around the world. It is studied by hundreds of millions of people in all parts the globe. The reason is completely different possibilities, which come off in front of people who have mastered these languages. If knowledge of Esperanto allows one to enter a limited club of amateur intellectuals, then knowledge of English gives an advantage in employment, access to numerous information, communication and other resources, to films, books, communication on the Internet, etc. Currently, it is English, more than all other languages, that has a chance to establish itself in the status of a single international language. Experts, evaluating the historical and cultural significance English for the whole human society, they compare it with Latin and the language of mathematical logic.

Without a doubt, the popularity of any foreign language is associated with the practicality of its use. English is currently the most widely used in international communications, the most studied and the most accessible for teaching. This means that it is closest to the universal language. And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the economic, political and historical reasons for the spread of English, due to the influence on the modern world of such a superpower as the United States of America and Great Britain - in the recent past, the largest state that has ever existed in the history of mankind.

Also on the status of language No. 1 in modern world can claim Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Russian, which was not so long ago the language of the socialist camp. All of them have a significant number of speakers on different continents, as well as in the most economically developed countries. These languages ​​are among the official languages ​​of the UN, books in these languages ​​have the highest citation index. Today, printed sources in these languages ​​can be found almost anywhere in the world.

To the four criteria mentioned above, one more could be added - intensity of translation from/into languages ​​claiming to be international. Collecting and summarizing statistics in the field of translation in different parts of the globe, one can accurately identify 7-10 languages, which account for 90% of the volume of translations. International languages ​​are widely used, and therefore there are many more translators who specialize in them than in local and rare languages. It is also possible to trace these trends in the number and specialization of professional linguists who are graduating from higher educational establishments in different countries.

In Russia, statistical surveys are regularly conducted of those who speak foreign languages. First of all, we are talking about English, to a lesser extent, German and French. A small proportion of Russians know Turkish and other "exotic" languages. Four out of five young people aged 15 to 29 speak English, 5 times less often German and 20 times less often French. The statistics of our Moscow office also confirms the indisputable dominance of English - about 70% of all orders are for translations from/into English.

This set of the most popular languages ​​is primarily due to Russia's economic orientation towards cooperation with the US and European countries. The study of these languages ​​is now considered prestigious in our country. And, as we said above, the need for people to learn a particular language is primarily due to the expected practical use or benefit from their use.

What English language has become universalin many areas of activity, undeniably. It prevails in transport and in the means mass media. English is the language of travel and tourism. It is the language of satellite systems, computers and the Internet. According to scientists at the University of California, more than 80% of all information in more than 150 million computers around the world is stored in English. About 90% of international telephone conversations conducted in English. Three out of four emails millions of people send to each other every day around the world are written in English. Instructions for computer programs and the programs themselves are drawn up in English. Despite the fact that not so long ago the language of the world scientific community was considered German, today 85% of all scientific papers are published in English. Without a doubt, English has become the international language of economics, medicine, high technology, electronics, space technology, diplomacy and youth culture. Doing business on an international scale is unthinkable without knowing this language.

We add that it is English that serves as the language of communication in countries where people speak several dialects that are radically different from each other. In India, where at least 200 different languages ​​are registered and only 30% of the population speak the official language, Hindi, government announcements are made in English.

And now some interesting facts. According to surveys, learning English is the goal of 300 million Chinese in the near future. And that's more than the entire population of the United States. Of all European countries, apart from the UK, Holland is in first place in terms of the number of people who know English. Of all the European powers, France has for many years been pursuing a strict language policy aimed at protecting the mother tongue. However, even in France, the leading business school today teaches in English. This is the first time that the French Higher School has made such concessions. Imagine: the Paris headquarters of one of the largest telecommunications networks in the world, Alcatel. Incoming call. The employee picks up the phone, and a formal greeting sounds, always the same: “Alcatel, good morning.” If even the French make such assumptions in matters of language policy, then this once again confirms the dominance of the English language in the international arena.

Currently, enthusiastic linguists continue their attempts to create a universal artificial language. One of these projects was called Lingua de Planeta. Its developers (by the way, from Russia) are trying to create a harmonious whole, a rational and convenient language of international communication on the basis of the most common national languages. But, even if it contains elements of such languages ​​as English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Hindi and Arabic, even if it is possible to synthesize grammatical principles that are optimally understandable and easy to learn,the fate of this and similar projects is already known in advance. An artificial language has no historical and cultural roots, it does not transmit a colossal flow of relevant information, it does not have millions of speakers in different countries of the world, etc. Therefore, 300 million Chinese will never aspire to learn such a language...

Let me end this article by saying that the international language is the key to the sources of knowledge, information, cultural and spiritual values ​​of all mankind. And now English for this role, as practice shows, is better than any other language.

Alexandra Chekalina

Kachanova Yaroslava, Gusenkova Kristina

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Municipal Autonomous Educational Institution

"Gymnasium No. 1", Bryansk

RESEARCH PROJECT

IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Why did English become

International language?

Completed by: Kachanova Yaroslava

Gusenkova Kristina

(students of grade 7b)

Head: Zhizhina N.V.

year 2014

1.Introduction…………………………………………………………….2-3

2. The concept of "international language"………………………………….4-7

3. History of the origin of the English language…………………..8-11

4. The beginning of the globalization of the English language……………………..12-13

5. English - as a universal international language ... ... 14-17

6.Conclusion………………………………………………………………18-20

7. List of used literature………………………………..21

1. Introduction

There is a famous saying:English belongs not only to England, but to the whole world. And there is no exaggeration in this. Almost two billion people on Earth use both their native and foreign languages, English in their speech. Currently, English is the language of computers, information technology and, of course, the Internet. English is a priority in the world practice of conducting correspondence.

English has long been established as the global language of international communication. A rich vocabulary, containing only half a million words related to terminology, has led to the advanced importance of English in science, and today a huge number of scientific publications are published in English. English is used in diplomacy, trade, medicine, industry, and business.

English has long history development. Since the time of the settlement of the British Isles by the tribes of Angles and Saxons, the English language has been formed as a result of conquest and trade relations. And today, the English language continues to constantly change and evolve, not only in countries where English is the official language, but throughout the world.
Why is English the international language? This is due to the fact that its study is a fairly easy process that can be mastered as quickly as possible. Moreover, we note that any person and at any age can master this language.

1. Topic of work Why did English become an international language?

2. Rationale for the relevance of the topic

Today, the ability to communicate in English has become the norm and even a necessity. But why exactly English? Why not Japanese or Arabic? Why did English become an international language, the language of international communication?

3. Research hypothesis

We propose to call English the language of international communication, identify the areas of use of English that are known to us, and understand what encourages students to choose English over other foreign languages.

4. The purpose of the work

Finding out the expediency of calling English the language of international communication.

5. Tasks

1.Educational

- to form the skills of conducting and designing simple research

Expand students' knowledge of the language being studied

To form the ability to use previously studied material in the speech and practice of students

2.Developing

To develop the ability of students to make monologue statements

Develop interactive communication skills

Develop listening skills

3. Educational

Cultivate social skills

To educate students the ability to objectively assess what is happening

To form self-control skills and the ability to objectively assess their capabilities

6.Object of study

English as a universal international language

7. Research methods

Communication-oriented learning

Development of cognitive interests

Learner-centered learning

Information Technology

8. Subject of research

The process of globalization of the English language, its distribution and significance throughout the world.

9.Practical significance

English in the modern world is evolving not only in countries where it is the official language, but also in countries that actively use English as the main international language. All more people want to know the language not just at the level of a minimal understanding of each other, but in order to express their thoughts in an accessible and most accurate way. And accordingly, all the changes that occur with the language in its homeland are tightly woven into the lives of people who study and use it outside of English-speaking countries.

2. The concept of "international language"

international language- a language that can be used for communication by a significant number of people around the world. The term is also used to refer to this concept.world language. In the modern world, 7 to 10 are allocated international languages. The border between international languages ​​andlanguages ​​of interethnic communication is blurry.

After World War II, and especially since the early 1990s, English has become the most common international language. An international language can also mean an artificial language created for international communication, such as Esperanto. Also in the XVII-XVIII centuries. attempts were made to create an artificial universal letter -pasigraphy

Signs of an international language

Languages ​​considered international have the following features:

• A large number of people consider this language to be their mother tongue.
• Among those for whom this language is not native, there are a large number of people who speak it as a foreign orsecond language .
• This language is spoken in many countries, on several continents and in different cultural circles.
• In many countries this language is studied at school as a foreign language.
• This language is used as an official language by international organizations, at international conferences and in large international firms.

3. History of the origin of the English language

Celtic culture at the origins of the history of the English language

The first mentions in the ancient chronicles of the inhabitants who inhabited the British Isles date back to 800 BC. At this time, a tribe of the Indo-European people, the Celts, moved to the island. Those tribes that lived on the islands before the arrival of the Celtic people did not leave any traces in history.

From 800 BC the era of the British Celts begins and, accordingly, the Celtic language in Britain.Many linguists are of the opinion that the word "Britain" comes from a word with a Celtic root - brith "painted". In the annals, one can find a mention that the Celts really painted their faces and bodies when they were going to war or hunt. There are references in the annals that the British Celts already had a developed culture at the time of the conquest of the British Isles by the great Caesar. Patriarchy flourished in the tribes. Men had 8-10 wives. Children were brought up by women until a certain age, then the boys passed under the care of men who taught them how to hunt and use weapons.

Also in the annals it is mentioned that the British Celts spoke a special dialect.

And words like whiskey, plaid, slogan came into English much later from the Celtic languages ​​that were widespread at that time: whiskey (Irl. uisce beathadh " living water"), slogan (from Scottish sluagh-ghairm "battle cry").

The influence of the Roman Empire on the development of the English language

A century after the conquest of the British Isles by Caesar, in 44 BC. The Roman emperor Claudius visited the British Isles, after which Britain became a Roman province. During this period, there is close communication between the Celtic people and the Romans, which, of course, is reflected in the language.

So, many words in modern English have Latin roots. For example, the word castra (from Latin "camp"). This root is found in many geographical names modern Britain - Lancaster, Manchester, Leicester.

There are also such common words as street "street" (from the Latin expression via strata "paved road") and wall "wall" (from vallum "shaft").

There are many common nouns borrowed from Latin: wine "wine" - from Latin. vinum "wine"; pear "pear" - from lat. pirum "pear"; pepper "pepper" - from lat. piper.

Old English period (450 - 1066) in the history of the English language

The immediate progenitors of the English people are the Germanic tribes of the Saxons, Jutes, Angles and Frisians, who entered the territory of Britain in 449. Since these tribes far outnumbered the Celtic ones in numbers, the Anglo-Saxon dialect gradually replaced the Celtic dialect from use.

Thanks to the Anglo-Saxon tribes, many names of geographical objects appeared in the English language, which have survived to this day. Also, words such as butter, pound, cheese, alum, silk, inch, chalk, mile, mint have common Germanic roots borrowed from Latin. Or the word Saturday - stands for "the day of Saturn" - the father of the god Jupiter in ancient Roman mythology.

In 597 AD The general Christianization of Britain begins. Prior to this, the Anglo-Saxon tribes were pagans. The Roman Church sent the monk Augustine to the island, who through diplomatic channels gradually began the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. The activities of Augustine and his followers brought tangible results: by the beginning of 700 AD. a significant part of the population of the British Isles professed Christianity.

This close fusion of cultures is reflected in the language. Many words appeared that were borrowed precisely at this time. For example, school "school" - from lat. schola "school", Bishop "bishop" - from lat. Episcopus ″watching″, mount "mountain" - from lat. montis (genus Pad.) "mountain", pea "pea" - from lat. pisum "pea", Priest "priest" - from lat. presbyter "presbyter".

According to approximate estimates of linguists in this era, the English language borrowed more than 600 words from Latin, not counting derivatives from them. Basically, these are words related to religion, church, as well as government.

By this time belongs the work of Beda the Venerable (Beda Venerabilis), the first English historian and educator, who was the first to translate the Gospel from Latin into Anglo-Saxon. The activity of Bede the Venerable had a significant impact on the development of the language and is an important stage in the history of the English language.

Influence of the Scandinavian group of languages

In 878, the conquest of the Anglo-Saxon lands by the Danes begins. For many years, the Danes lived on the lands of Britain, intermarried with representatives of the Anglo-Saxons. As a result, a number of borrowings from the Scandinavian languages ​​appeared in English. For example, amiss "not all right", anger "anger", auk "razorbill", awe "awe", axle "axle", aye "always".

The letter combination sk- or sc- at the beginning of a word in modern English is also very often an indication that the word is a Scandinavian loanword. For example, sky "sky" (in native English heaven), skin "skin" (in native English hide "skin"), skull "skull" (in native English shell "shell; shell").

Middle English period (1066-1500) of the history of the English language

Development of English in the Middle Ages

In the middle of the XI century, the inhabitants of northern France conquer Britain. William the Conqueror, a Norman by birth, becomes king. Since that time, the era of three languages ​​​​begins in the history of the people. French became the language of the aristocracy, the courts, Latin remained the language of science, and the common people continued to speak Anglo-Saxon. It was the mixing of these three languages ​​that gave rise to the formation of modern English.

Modern English - mixed

Linguists interpret modern English as a mixed language.This is due to the fact that many words, in a common sense, do not have common roots. Let's compare, for example, a number of words in Russian: head - head - main. In English, the same series is represented by the words: head - chapter - chief. Why did it happen? Everything is explained precisely by the mixing of three languages. Anglo-Saxon words denoted specific objects, hence the word head. From Latin - the language of science and education, the word chapter remained. From French there was a word that was in the everyday life of the nobility, chief.

The same distinction can be found in many semantic series in the English language. For example, words denoting the name of an animal (words of Germanic origin) and the name of the meat of this animal (these words come from Old French) differ. So, ox is a bull, cow is a cow, calf is a calf, sheep is a sheep, pig is a pig; but beef is beef, veal is veal, mutton is lamb, pork is pork, etc.

During this period of the history of the English language, changes also take place in the grammatical structure. Many verb endings are missing. Adjectives acquire degrees of comparison, including suppletive degrees (with the addition of the words more, most). The phonetics of the language also undergoes significant changes. By the end of 1500, the London dialect was gaining more and more popularity in the country, which 90% of native speakers began to speak.

First books in English

William Caxton is considered to be the first printer in Britain, who in 1474 printed the first book in English. It was a translation of Raoul Lefebvre's ″Collection of Stories of Troy″. During his lifetime, Caxton printed over 100 books, many of which were his own translations. It should be noted that thanks to his activities, many English words finally found their final form.

As for grammar rules, Caxton often invented his own rules, which, after publication, became public and were considered the only correct ones.

New English period (1500-present) of the history of the English language

The great William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is considered to be the founder of the English literary language. He is credited with the origin of many idiomatic expressions that are also used in modern English. In addition, Shakespeare invented many new words that have taken root in the language.

For example, the word swagger "swaggering gait; swagger" is found for the first time in the history of the English language in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

History of the English Language in the Age of Enlightenment

In 1712, for the first time in history, an image appeared, personifying Great Britain and national character English. In this year, the hero of John Abertnot's political pamphlets, John Bull, was born. And until now the image of Bull is a satirical image of an Englishman.

In 1795, the first English Grammar by Lindley Murray was published. For almost two centuries, this textbook has been fundamental in the grammar of the English language. All educated people studied Murray's grammar.

4. The beginning of the globalization of the English language

By the beginning of the 20th century, English is increasingly becoming the language of international communication. English, along with other languages ​​of international communication, was used at international conferences, in the League of Nations, for negotiations. Even then, the need to improve its teaching and develop objective criteria for learning the language more effectively became obvious. This need stimulated the search and research of linguists from different countries, which have not dried up to this day. It is clear thatthat one of the most important components of learning any foreign language is the accumulation of vocabulary. Only by acquiring some vocabulary can one begin to study the relationships of words - grammar, style, etc. But which English words should be learned first? And how many words do you need to know? There are a lot of words in the English language. According to linguists, the complete vocabulary of the English language contains at least one million words. Record holders among well-known dictionaries of the English language are the second edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary, The Oxford English Dictionary, published in 1989 by Oxford University Press, and Webster's 1934 Dictionary Webster's New International Dictionary, 2nd Edition, which includes a description of 600 thousand words. Of course, not a single person knows such a number of words, and it is very difficult to use such huge dictionaries.

The "average" Englishman or American, even with a higher education, hardly uses more than 1500-2000 words in his everyday speech, although he passively owns an incomparably large vocabulary that he hears on TV or meets in newspapers and books. And only the most educated, intelligent part of society is able to actively use more than 2000 words: individual writers, journalists, editors and other "masters of the word" use the most extensive vocabulary, reaching 10 thousand words or more in some especially gifted people. The only problem is that for every person with a rich vocabulary, the dictionary is as individual as handwriting or fingerprints. Therefore, if the vocabulary of 2000 words is approximately the same for everyone, then the “plumage” is quite different for everyone.

However, conventional bilingual dictionaries and explanatory dictionaries, in which the interpretation of the meanings of words is given in one language, they strive to describe the maximum possible number of words in order to increase the likelihood that the reader will find in them the majority of the search words he encounters. Therefore, the larger the regular dictionary, the better. It is not uncommon for dictionaries containing descriptions of tens and hundreds of thousands of words in one volume. In addition to ordinary dictionaries, there are dictionaries that contain not the maximum number of words, but rather their minimum list. Dictionaries necessary minimum Vocabularies describe the words that are used most often and represent the greatest semantic value. Since words are used with different frequencies, some words are much more common than all other words. In 1973, it was found that a minimum dictionary of the 1000 most common words in the English language describes 80.5% of all word usage in average texts, a dictionary of 2000 words - about 86% of word usage, and a dictionary of 3000 words - about 90% of word usage.

English became an international language thanks to the active colonial and commercial policy of Great Britain.

WITH At the beginning of the 17th century, through the East India Company, England spread its influence in North America, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the African continent, Australia, Indonesia, Oceania, China and Japan.

AND automatically, whether you like it or not, English has become the language business people, the language spoken by the richest and most powerful in the world.

AND looking at all this, people were in a hurry to learn English. After all, for them, he personified luck and success. Who doesn't want fame and fortune?

So, thanks to the massive influx of people who want to learn it, English became an international language, which, by the way, it is to this day.

Unconvincing?

H well, then read the list of England's colonies by the 17th century, and everything will fall into place:

Ireland, Heligoland, Malta, Gibraltar, Ionian Islands, Minorca, Cyprus, Isle of Man, Mesopotamia (Iraq) , Real Jordan and Palestine), Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Treaty Oman (UAE), Aden, Afghanistan, British India (INDIA, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma), Ceylon, Nepal, Malaysia (including Singapore), Maldives, Sarawak, British Malaya, North Borneo, Brunei, Hong Kong, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika(Tanzania), Zanzibar, Somalia, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (Malawi), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Union of South Africa (South Africa), South West Africa (Namibia), Bechuanaland (Botswana), Basutoland (Lesotho), Seychelles, Swaziland, Chagos Archipelago, Gambia, Mauritius, Nigeria, British Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast and British Togo (Ghana), Sierra Leone, Tristan da Cunha, Ascension Islands, St. Helena, CANADA, Newfoundland, Thirteen colonies (USA) Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Barbados, Dominica,Anguilla, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Grenadines, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Guyana (Guyna), Saint Kitts, Mosquito Coast, Cayman Islands, Nevis, British Honduras (Belize), Bahamas, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Papua New Guinea, AUSTRALIA, Solomon islands, Christmas Island, Nauru, coconut islands, Norfolk, New Zealand, British Samoa, Cook Islands,Ross Land (in Antarctica), Fiji, Gilbert Islands (Tuvalu and Kiribati), Tonga, New Hebrides (Vanuatu), Pinkairn.

5. English as a universal international language

The surest factor in accelerating the development of a universal way of life is
is the spread of the English language. Language is the great agent of homogenization,
the wave through which culture is transmitted. If English becomes
the main language of communication, the consequences of this are obvious: cultures
English-speaking countries will be dominant throughout the world.

English becomes the world's first universal language.He is
native language of 500 million people in 12 countries.This is much less than
somewhere around 900 million who speak Mandarin Chinese.
But another 600 million speak English as a second language.And further
several hundred million have some knowledge of the English language,
which has official or semi-official status in about 62 countries.
Although there may be as many people speaking different dialects
Chinese as well as English speakers, English is undeniably more
distributed geographically, indeed more universal than Chinese.
And its use is growing at an amazing rate.

Today there are approximately 1.5 billion people in the world who speak
English language.

English being the most taught language does not replace others
languages, but complements them.

300 million Chinese - more than the entire population of the United States -
learn English.

In 90 countries, English is either a second language or widely studied.

In Hong Kong, students in nine out of ten secondary schools study English
language.

In France, in public secondary schools, it is compulsory for students
studying English or German for four years,
the majority - at least 85% - choose English.

In Japan, students must study English for six years before
graduation from high school.

In Russia, where learning foreign languages ​​is mandatory for children,
most learn English. In Norway, Sweden and Denmark mandatory
are learning English. Of all European countries, not counting
Great Britain, Holland is in first place in terms of the number of people who know
English language. Ever since Portugal joined the European Community,
the demand for English lessons has replaced the demand for French classes
language.

"On the part of students, young professionals, educators, business people and
civil servants in most countries there is a general hunger for
materials and technological means in English," notes the former
director news agency United States (USIA) Charles Wick.
The agency promotes behavior in 200 cultural centers 100 countries of the world
English courses. 450 thousand people attended English classes
languages ​​sponsored by USIA.

There are 1,300 English-language schools in Tokyo, and 100 open every year.
new schools. "Berlitz" offers in its 250 language schools located in
27 countries of the world, learning both English and American versions
in English. Around the world, from 80 to 90% of the students of Berlitz schools
are learning English. Between 1983 and 1988, the number of
English language increased by 81%.

Media and transport

English prevails in transport and in the mass media
information. English is the language of travel and communication in international
airlines. In all international airports pilots and controllers speak
English. Maritime navigation uses flags and light signals, but
"if ships had to communicate verbally, they would find mutual language,
which would probably be English," says an American
nautical border service Warner Sims.

The five largest broadcasters are CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and
CBC (Canadian broadcaster) - reach potential audience
approximately 500 million people through English language broadcasts.
It is also the language of satellite television.

information age

English is the language of the information age. Computers talk to each other
in English. More than 80% of all information in more than 150 million computers
around the world is kept in English. Eighty five percent of all
international telephone calls are made in English, also
as well as three-quarters of the world's mail, telexes and telegrams. Instructions for
computer programs and the programs themselves are often only in English
language. Once the language of science was German, today 85% of all scientific papers
published first in English. More than half of the world's technical
and scientific periodicals are published in English, which is also
is the language of medicine, electronics and space technology. Internet
unthinkable without English!

international Business

English is the language of international business. When Japanese
businessman concludes a deal somewhere in Europe, there is a high probability that
negotiations are conducted in English. On industrial products it is indicated
in English, their country of production: "Made in Germany" and not
Factory in Deutschland. This language was also chosen by multinational
corporations. Datsan and Nissan write international memorandums on
English. Back in 1985, 80% of the employees of the Japanese "Mitsui and K" could
speak, read and write English. Toyota provides courses
English at work. English classes are held in
Saudi Arabia for Aramco employees and on three continents for
employees of Chase Manhattan Bank. All employees of Tetrapack, IBM
must know English well.

The international language of Iveco, an Italian truck manufacturer, is
English. Philips, a Dutch electronics firm, manufactures all assemblies
board of directors in English. French company Cap Gemina
Sogeti Sa", one of the world's largest manufacturers computer programs,
declared English as its official language. Even in France where
have a low opinion of all languages ​​except their own, in the leading
business school will now be taught in English. Higher
commercial school offers its classic advanced management course
business in English. This is the first time that a French higher education
the school will teach foreign language. When in Paris
the headquarters of Alcatel, the second largest telecommunications network in the world,
the operator answers the phone, then he does not do it in French, but
in English, and it sounds like this: "Alcatel, good morning." When the French
yield in the matter of language, then something irreversible is really happening.

Diplomacy

English replaces the dominant language for many centuries
European languages. English has replaced French as the language
diplomacy, it is the official language international organizations to provide
aid such as Oxfam and Save the Children, UNESCO, NATO and the UN.

Lingua franca

The current picture of the world gave rise to the emergence of the world "lingua franca", which became the English language."Lingua franca"- a language used for communication among people of different mother tongues." (Collins English Dictionary) [“A lingua franca is a language used to communicate among people for whom it is not native”]

English is the lingua franca in countries where people speak
various languages. In India, where about 200 different languages ​​are spoken,
only 30% speak the official Hindi language. When Rajiv Gandhi addressed
to the country after the murder of his mother, he spoke English.
European Free Trade Association works only in English
language, despite the fact that it is a non-native language for all member countries.

Official language

English is the official or semi-official language of 20 African
countries including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and South Africa.
Students are taught in English at Makerere University in Uganda,
the University of Nairobi in Kenya and the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
English is the official language of the World Council of Churches, Olympic Games And
contest "Miss Universe".

youth culture

English is the language of world youth culture. All over the world
young people sing words from the songs of the groups "The Beatles", "U-2" (U2), Michael
Jackson and Madonna without fully understanding them. Break dance, rap music,
"bodybuilding", "windsurfing" and "computer hacking" - these words invade
jargon of the youth of all countries of the world.

6. CONCLUSION

English today is the universally recognized language of international communication. It is used on 157 national airlines (out of 168 existing in the world), it is spoken and written by hundreds of millions of people of different nationalities (for example, in India alone, up to 3 thousand newspapers are published in English). This is the language of modern business, science, office work, information technology.

“English is just as big a business as the export of manufactured goods” (Professor Randolph Quirk, Oxford;

In modern society, English has taken its strong position. In kindergartens, kids are taught the English alphabet and simple words. At school, it is mandatory to study, and in some institutes, students listen to entire courses of lectures on various subjects in English. When applying for a job, knowing this language can make the employer pay special attention to your resume. English has long been assimilated with ours - everywhere people use words such as “computer”, “internet”, “business”, “image”, “presentation” ... We travel the world, communicating with people from different countries and cultures in English, and we understand each other. Today, the ability to communicate in English has become the norm and even a necessity.

But why exactly English? Why not Japanese or Arabic? Why did English become an international language, the language of international communication?

1) Many centuries ago, England spread the English language in all the conquered countries - the colonies of the British Empire., and emigrants from England took him to North America and other parts of the world. So, united with emigrants from Europe, they created the United States of America, in which the English language played a major role in overcoming language and national barriers.. And automatically, like it or not, English became the language of business people, the language spoken by the richest and most influential of this world.

2) There are a lot of words in the English language. The richness of the vocabulary big influence to spread the language around the world.However, the most important difference between the English language and many European languages that there are no static rules in the UK. On the contrary, in big move different dialects and adverbs. Not only the pronunciation of words at the phonetic level differs, but there are also completely different words denoting the same concept.

3) During its existence, English has undergone many changes.The conquered colonies transformed the language of the colonizer and introduced elements of their national language into it. So, in the Philippines, Malaysia, England, the United States, the language differs slightly from each other. The cultures of different countries leave their mark on the English language. Today eventhere is such a thing as american english, for us it is the language of the US superpower, simplified and more “convenient”.Media and government officials communicate in British English. There are Australian English, Canadian English and many other dialects. On the territory of the UK itself, there are several dialects spoken by the inhabitants of a particular province.

As you can see, the English language has retained its traditions of ″mixing languages″ even today..
The mass dissemination of the English language began in the era of globalization and scientific and technological progress.The globalization of the economy and trade, as well as "Americanization", contributed to the spread of American English, from which words were increasingly borrowed by other languages, such as Ukrainian and Russian.
Modern language in British Isles is not static at all. The language lives, neologisms constantly appear, some words become a thing of the past.

In truth, they communicate in what the linguist David Crystal called "Englishes" (which can be translated as "English languages"), in some cases it is the language that is called "creole", "pidgin" or "patois".

We are currently learning the latest technology, the possibilities of the Internet and interethnic communication. Scientists from all over the world come together for important scientific research. Literature in English, clothes from abroad, exchange students, tourists - all this surrounds us every day.And even if there were attempts to create a new universal language of international communication, for example, Esperanto, which has achieved significant success, all the same, English has been and remains the main international language.

4) This situation causes many positive emotions, as well as negative ones. On the one hand, of course,the existence of a single language in which you can communicate in any country and forget about any language barriers is wonderful.You can not only not think about how to communicate in a country where they speak an unfamiliar language, but also make new friends, get to know a different culture and thereby consider completely different values ​​that are different for all nations. An international language such as English is able to unite all nations, make people friendly and permanently remove linguistic misunderstandings, expanding the space to an unattainable level of communication.

But there is another opinion, which is not as optimistic as the above, namely, a sufficiently large category of people believes that the existence of an international language is, of course, good,but there is a danger that it will gradually absorb all other languages ​​and thereby cultural values every nation will remain in the past.Each nation will no longer be unique and unique in its own way, and the international language will gradually become unified and replace the significance of national languages. Of course, this opinion will cause skepticism among many, but it is worth noting that it is not without a certain meaning and relevance, and if we consider our future in the future, then nothing is impossible and sometimes the situation can turn out in the most unexpected way.

Perhaps in 100 years, the inhabitants of the Earth will love the sophistication and beauty of one of the two dialects of the Chinese language - Mandarin or Cantonese. We do not know.

How many people, so many opinions, there can be no doubt about this, and everyone must decide for himself how important it is for him to know English and what is the role of this language in the world.

7. List of used literature

- Arakin V.D.

Essays on the history of the English languageM.: Fizmatlit, 2007. - 146 p.

Brunner K.

History of the English language. Per. with him. 2 volumes in one book. Ed.4
2010.. 720 p.

Ilyish B.A.

History of the English language, M. Higher School, 1998. 420s

Smirnitsky A.I.

Reader on the history of the English language from the 7th to the 17th centuries, Academy, 2008. 304s

Shaposhnikova I.V. History of the English language. Flint. 2011

Internet resources

Then for more than a thousand years, first in the Mediterranean, and then in Catholic Europe, Latin was the most important international language used for international communication in all spheres of human life. Negotiations were conducted on it, trade deals were concluded, scientific papers were written. In the Muslim world, the Arabic language played a similar role, although in central and western Asia it was supplanted by the Persian language for several centuries. IN East Asia For a long time Wenyan was the international language.

In the XVI-XVII centuries, Spanish was used as an international language. At the beginning of the 18th century, French became the most important language of international communication in Europe. In the 19th century, the German language also acquired great importance, not least due to high achievements German scientists of that time. In parallel, the development of English and Spanish as international languages, thanks to the colonies of these countries, scattered around the world. At the end of the 20th century, English established itself as the most important international language. In the countries of the socialist camp, Russian became the most important international language, which was studied in schools in all countries of the socialist camp.

Changes

The status of an international language is changeable and unstable. Over time, some languages ​​acquire the status of international ones, others lose it due to a combination of demographic, geographical, cultural and, which is especially important in Lately, economic factors. Most of the international languages ​​became such as a result of the colonial activity of small states (metropolitan countries) both in adjacent regions (Russian, German, Chinese) and on other continents (Portuguese, Spanish, English). Thus, the previously popular Greek and Latin languages ​​have long lost this function. Some languages ​​like

Over 7 billion people live on Earth at the present time. According to various sources, there are from 3,000 to 7,000 languages ​​on the planet, of which 8 are languages ​​of "world importance": English, Portuguese, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese. Each of them is used in the territories of many states. In addition, due to the increase in the number of speakers, the most important languages ​​of the planet are Hindi and Urdu. Also, the artificial language Esperanto is widespread in many areas.

But in this article we will consider only two languages ​​that deserve special attention. Namely, English and Chinese, more precisely its northern dialect group, called "Mandarin" or "Mandarin". They are used to transmit most of information on earth.

English is one of the Germanic languages ​​of the Indo-European family. International communication, business, cooperation and trade are mainly carried out in this language. This fact explained by the current world influence of the United States and colonization british empire 200 years ago. A huge number of words in many languages, including Russian, are borrowed from English. Today there are more than 500 million people who speak their native English in 12 countries.

But there are far more Mandarin (Chinese) speakers: about 1.2 billion people! Chinese is a branch of Sino-Tibetan language family. It is one of the oldest languages ​​in existence today. On the basis of its ancient writing, Japanese and part of Korean were created. And, despite the fact that it is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for its complexity, its northern group dialects (Mandarin) is the most widely spoken language on the planet. It's all about the dense population of China and the surplus labor force that is rapidly spreading around the world. China has the highest population, over 1.3 billion people.

The number of people learning Chinese, especially Mandarin, is growing every year. The Chinese economy in many areas is beginning to displace the traditional leader - the United States, not to mention other countries. The demand for Mandarin-speaking professionals is high. Their deficit will only increase in the future.

However, English is an international language. And there are quite objective reasons for this:

1. English colonization was the strongest, international relationships built in this language.


2. This is the language of the information age. More than 80% of the information in more than 150 million computers around the world is stored in English.


3. Film industry, music pop culture, industry Catering subject to the so-called Americanization.


4. It is one of the easiest languages ​​to learn. And certainly much easier than tangerine.

English is the preferred language for international communication for most people. The Chinese themselves master it and use it to cooperate with foreigners. Although it would be logical to assume that since Mandarin is spoken by the majority of the world's population and the modern "world factory", then this language should have international status. Perhaps over time it will be so, and Chinese fast food will become more popular than McDonald's. In any case, knowledge of both Chinese and English is a huge plus and promising opportunities for a modern person.