English Language has "conquered" the World!?

[Lote-Tree]

'English has conquered the world' I think is quite an exaggerated statement! :p


Is it an exaggerated statement? :D

The very fact that people from four corners of this world are conversing in English on this forum is a testament to that is it not? Just like latin was in Roman times?

What say you chaps?

Has English become the Global Language that we are all seeking :D

[barbara0207]

Perhaps not in all parts of the world yet, but it's come a long way.

Over here in Germany practically every child has to learn English, some as early as in primary school.

The disadvantage is that some native speakers of English do not see the necessity to learn any foreign language. ('Why, everybody speaks English nowadays!') :D (Litnetters excluded, of course!;) )

[Idril]

I think the only reason "English has conquered the world" is because we English speaking countries are just too damn lazy and self-centered to learn any other language so the rest of the world has had little choice. ;)

[Bakiryu]

Yeah, when you come to this country and you speak another language you HAVE to learn English instead of Englishmen learning YOUR language. That;s not fair. English is taking over the world!!!!

[Lote-Tree]

The disadvantage is that some native speakers of English do not see the necessity to learn any foreign language.


It is so true!!!! We have become so lazy. But we envy your bilingual abilities though :-)

[barbara0207]

Sorry, I didn't want to do that 'Holier than thou' stuff. Must have sounded somewhat arrogant. :blush:

[Lote-Tree]

Sorry, I didn't want to do that 'Holier than thou' stuff. Must have sounded somewhat arrogant. :blush:

hey no! it is the truth...even we admit it :-) Language Education here is terrible!

[Pensive]

Is it an exaggerated statement? :D

Yes. A little bit exaggerated. Not exaggerated if you switch it to:

People from all over the world have conquered English. :p And mind me there is a big difference between the two statements. :D

[Shalot]

I think the only reason "English has conquered the world" is because we English speaking countries are just too damn lazy and self-centered to learn any other language so the rest of the world has had little choice. ;)


Maybe we North Americans should learn Espanol. There are a lot of people here who speak both Spanish and English. We can sit here and fight and debate all day long about the immigration issue, but lots of people from Mexico are living here now and I don't think they're going anywhere.


Maybe North Americans better stop being lazy and try to learn Spanish. Or not.

Is it just me or do a lot of people in Europe know one or more languages? If you share a border it might beneficial to learn the other language...

I know a lot of people wouldn't want to do that but I think it would be cool to be bilingual

[hedbanger]

ENGLISH RULES! WHOOOOOOOO! -runs in circles around thread0

[NickAdams]

I enjoy english for its literary flexibility. I don't mind learning another language, I'm studying French now, but I would like to be interested in the language I'm learning. Foreign countries don't seem to have this luxury. I don't think english is conquering so much as other countries feel one language might mean better buisness. I wouln't for the French to speak english, when I'm in their country, but tourism is money, so they would. Eh! There's so much beauty in every language. And there are philosophies that might not have been thought of if it wasn't for language, Sartre. I'm just upset I can't learn them all.:bawling:

[formality hater]

Just like the primitive times,man has once again tried to find some common way to communicate,and has chosen "English" for this purpose.I have seen that many languages are way too difficult as compared to English!This could also be the reason!

[Lote-Tree]

Just like the primitive times,man has once again tried to find some common way to communicate,and has chosen "English" for this purpose.I have seen that many languages are way too difficult as compared to English!This could also be the reason!

Others might disagree :D They will say it is the most hardest language in the world - harder than mandarin chinese ;-)

[SleepyWitch]

Is it just me or do a lot of people in Europe know one or more languages? If you share a border it might beneficial to learn the other language...


yep, in Germany many students have to learn two modern foreign languages in school, e.g. French or Spanish besides English.
wheather they can really speak it afterwards is a different matter :)


Just like the primitive times,man has once again tried to find some common way to communicate,and has chosen "English" for this purpose.I have seen that many languages are way too difficult as compared to English!This could also be the reason!

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree. the fact that English has "conquered" the world has very little to do with the properties of the language as such. i.e. English is neither easier nor more difficult than any other language. (ok, maybe it's easier for e.g. Norwegians to learn English than for Russian people, but then it may be easier for Russians to learn Polish than for English ppl...)
anyway, what made English such a widespread, global language is a) the British Empire (---> this is why English is still spoken as a semi-official second languages in countries like India, Pakistan, some African countries) and b) the U.S.A.'s economic and political power.


Others might disagree :wave:

[Lote-Tree]

wheather they can really speak it afterwards is a different matter :)


I work with Germans and believe me they all speak it really well :D

[SleepyWitch]

I work with Germans and believe me they all speak it really well :D

oh, yeah, which explains why i spelled whether with an a ;)

[Lote-Tree]

oh, yeah, which explains why i spelled whether with an a ;)

But you have problem spelling in your own language - all those complicated conjugations :D

In English it does not matter how spell - Even Shakespare could not spell Atta Ullah so he spelt it Othello :D

[SleepyWitch]

But you have problem spelling in your own language - all those complicated conjugations :D

In English it does not matter how spell - Even Shakespare could not spell Atta Ullah so he spelt it Othello :D

hahahha, who's Atta Ullah?

[Lote-Tree]

hahahha, who's Atta Ullah?

Attah Ullah is Shakespear's Othello - the Moor.

[formality hater]

Others might disagree :D They will say it is the most hardest language in the world - harder than mandarin chinese ;-)

I was refering to the people here in Pakistan!Almost everyone can manage to communicate in somewhat broken English but would know nothing about other local languages of the country,except their native one!I also found the language difficult but managed to learn it,while the other one I am working on is still not my cup of tea(its been four years)!:(

I like the topic,Lote-Tree!

[Lote-Tree]

I also found the language difficult but managed to learn it,while the other one I am working on is still not my cup of tea(its been four years)!:(


I am terrible with languages too. Have trouble with English even!!! So don't worry in the future we will have Instanst Universal Translators embedded in our Ear - so no need to learn any lanugages :D



I like the topic,Lote-Tree!

Bueno!

[EAP]

A language cannot 'conquer' the world.


just like the primitive times,man has once again tried to find some common way to communicate,and has chosen "English" for this purpose.I have seen that many languages are way too difficult as compared to English!This could also be the reason!

Umm, no.


I was refering to the people here in Pakistan!Almost everyone can manage to communicate in somewhat broken English but would know nothing about other local languages of the country,except their native one!

Wrong.

[Pensive]

I was refering to the people here in Pakistan!Almost everyone can manage to communicate in somewhat broken English but would know nothing about other local languages of the country,except their native one!I also found the language difficult but managed to learn it,while the other one I am working on is still not my cup of tea(its been four years)!:(

I like the topic,Lote-Tree!

The reason why people in Pakistan don't get to learn other local languages over here has got nothing to do with its easiness or hardness, but due to the fact other languages are not taught over here in schools (in about 99 percent of the cases) like English is.

I can understand Punjabi and Sirayki still, without having someone to teach it to me. And I read no books in it. Watch no Punjabi movies or anything. Just caught it from some people around. That should make it the more easy language that everyone can understand so by your logic why are people not conquering it? Why are they going towards English? Lote is right in this matter. It has got little to do with the hardness/easiness of English.

But still I don't understand how can English conquer the world? After all it were us who put our efforts in it (oh well I didn't have to struggle through it much but still many have to), so we should deserve being called a conquerer. Huh! :D

*edit to add*


A language cannot 'conquer' the world.

Exactly, my point! :)

[formality hater]

The reason why people in Pakistan don't get to learn other local languages over here has got nothing to do with its easiness or hardness, but due to the fact other languages are not taught over here in schools (in about 99 percent of the cases) like English is.

I can understand Punjabi and Sirayki still, without having someone to teach it to me. And I read no books in it. Watch no Punjabi movies or anything. Just caught it from some people around. That should make it the more easy language that everyone can understand so by your logic why are people not conquering it? Why are they going towards English?


People who never attended schools can manage to speak good Urdu and, like I called,broken English!Other languages are also taught now.We had Arabic and a bit of Persian in school(and Arabic is still there)!

I don't care why English has been chosen,but as long as we have one common way to communicate,it is good!:)

[Pensive]

People who never attended schools can manage to speak good Urdu and, like I called,broken English!Other languages are also taught now.We had Arabic and a bit of Persian in school(and Arabic is still there)!

So Urdu shall rule the world? Because it shows it's easy though I think they manage to speak it because their parents at home speak it. And about half of the Pakistani population wouldn't understand the meaning of 'Which books do you like to read'. That's reality. If you call understanding words like 'bus', 'hello' and 'hi' speaking English then I should rather remain quiet. Most of the people here can't understand English. They can't handle a conversation in English. They can speak their native tongues without having gone to school because at home their parents speak it. For home-schooled people though things are different I guess.


I don't care why English has been chosen,but as long as we have one common way to communicate,it is good!:)

Yeah, it's good to have a 'lingua franca'. :)