Why English Should Not be the World Language

UK may count as major assets in this effort ' Among the largest UK ethnic groups are Africans , Bangladeshis and Pakistanis . Taylor (2006 agrees , saying native British students should be encouraged to learn languages other than English if the country has to keep pace with the growing international competition . It was noted that most UK citizens do not speak another language with great proficiency , a condition that will place UK on the path of the onrushing English train (Taylor , 2006 If there are 2 billion English speakers around the world , the English

speakers without knowledge of another language , like most British , will be at a disadvantage (Cohen , 2006 . Because of the spread of English and the monolingual character of UK , Graddol (2006 ) notes that the country has lost many of its traditional markets , its political and economic influence has dwindled and it has ceased to be the world 's educational center for English study

The biggest lose , however , could be the great minds and intellects in Germany , France and other once-proud European nations who could not publish their works in English . Even in this part of the world , the number of universities and research institutions is increasing that require professors to publish their scholarly works in English or lose their tenure and promotions . As a result , these old-school scientists and scholars are likely to remain unknown and ignored , with the world missing out on the fruits of their wisdom (Bakopoulos , 1997

References

Cohen , N (2006 . So English is Taking Over the Globe . So What The

New York Times , Aug . 6 , 2006

Bakopoulos , D (1997 . English as Universal Academic Language : Good or Bad ' News and Information Service , HSBC Holdings plc , Jan . 28

1997

Graddol , D (2006 . The English Language a Threat to UK ' In English Next

A study commissioned by the British...