Chapter 9 I ArgumentativeEssays 1574 Thatnumberis soaringaseachyearbringsnewpupilstoschoolandcarries
offmonolingualoldies-andnowastheInternetspreads.Andtheprocessis
self-reinforcing.Asbusinessspreadsacrossfrontiers,thecompanythatwants
tomoveitsexecutivesaroundandtopromotethebestofthem,regardlessof
nationality,encouragestheuseofEnglish.Sotheexecutivewhowantstobein
theframeortomovetoanotheremployerlearnstouseit.Englishhaslong
dominatedlearnedjournals:German,RussianorFrench(dependingonthefield)
maybeusefultotheirexpertreaders,butEnglishisessential.So,if youwant
yourownworkpublished-andwidelyreadbyyourpeers-thenEnglishis the
languageofchoice.
5 Thegrowthofthecinema,andstillmoresooftelevision,hasspreadthe
dominantlanguage.Foreignmoviesorsitcomsmaybedubbedintomajor
languages,butforsmalleraudiencestheyareusuallysubtitled.Result:A Dutch
orDanishorevenArabfamilyhasanaudiovisuallearningaidinitslivingroom,
andusuallythelanguagespokenonscreenisEnglish.
6 ThebirthofthecomputeranditsAmericanoperatingsystemsgaveEnglish
a nudgeahead;thatoftheInternethasgivenit a hugepush.AnyWeb-linked
householdtodayhasa libraryofinformationavailableattheclickOfa mouse.
And,unlikethebooksonitsownshelvesorinthepubliclibrary,maybefour-fifths
is writteninEnglish.Thatproportionmaylessen,asmorenon-Englishsites
springup.ButEnglishwillsurelydominate.
7 TheWebofcourseworksbothways.AnAmericanhasfarbetteraccess
todaythaneverbeforetotextsinGermanorPolishorGaelic.Buttheaverage
Americanhasnogreatincentivetoprofitfromit. Thatisnottruetheotherway
round.TheWebmayevensavesomeminilanguages.Butthebigwinnerwill be
English.Ouestions
- Paraphraseparagraph3,whichgivesseveralstatisticsaboutthenumberof
peoplewhouseEnglish. _ - Howmanyreasonsaregiveninparagraphs4 and5 forthespreadof