English as a global language – 2nd edition – David Crystal

Chapter 1 summary

In why a Global Language, author David Crystal explains what a global language is, how English has become the global language of today, and also why it is important for the world to have a global language.
The article begins with David Crystal going explaining how English is the global language today. He explains how English is everywhere, it can be found all around the world, even headlines in other countries are written in English. From here David switches views and shows the reader that not everyone understands English, others all around the world, view English differently. English is not everyone’s first language and some even may feel threatened that …show more content…

However, if the global language is introduced to children at a young age and maintained as they get older, well then when they are adults the global language may be as good as their mother tongue. If we take this serious, the task of foreign language learning, one of the most important things is the saying – ‘the earlier the better.’ In Linguistic complacency David asks will the people have less motivation to learn other languages. This is for the person who speaks the global language. For example, English people and Americans, when they travel to other countries they expect everyone there in that country to be able to speak English. The stereotype is that they go to a restaurant and speak slowly and loudly. There is a lack of motivation for these people to learn another language. Many factors can be accounted for this reason. Lack of money, opportunity and lack of motivation to study are some of the reasons. It is starting to be realised now that people from the English communities need to try and break away from this old way of thinking and start to learn new languages. Especially now these days that the world has an economic crisis people need to do what they can to make sales. Even these days some tourists now try to learn the basics of a language for whichever country they visit. In 1996 there was a European business