英语辩论赛：英语比汉语应成为通用语言

Englishasagloballanguage

BecauseEnglishissowidelyspoken,ithasoftenbeenreferredtoasaworldlanguage,thelinguafrancaofthemodernera.[9]WhileEnglishisnotanofficiallanguageinmostcountries,itiscurrentlythelanguagemostoftentaughtasasecondlanguagearoundtheworld.Somelinguists(suchasDavidGraddol)believethatitisnolongertheexclusiveculturalpropertyofnativeEnglishspeakers,butisratheralanguagethatisabsorbingaspectsofculturesworldwideasitcontinuestogrow.[9]Itis,byinternationaltreaty,theofficiallanguageforaerialandmaritimecommunications.[45]EnglishisanofficiallanguageoftheUnitedNationsandmanyotherinternationalorganizations,includingtheInternationalOlympicCommittee.

EnglishisthelanguagemostoftenstudiedasaforeignlanguageintheEuropeanUnion(by89%ofschoolchildren),followedbyFrench(32%),German(18%),andSpanish(8%).[46]Amongnon-EnglishspeakingEUcountries,alargepercentageofthepopulationclaimedtobeabletoconverseinEnglishintheNetherlands(87%),Sweden(85%),Denmark(83%),Luxembourg(66%),Finland(60%),Slovenia(56%),Austria(53%),Belgium(52%),andGermany(51%).[47]NorwayandIcelandalsohavealargemajorityofcompetentEnglish-speakers.[citationneeded]

Books,magazines,andnewspaperswritteninEnglishareavailableinmanycountriesaroundtheworld.Englishisalsothemostcommonlyusedlanguageinthesciences.[9]In1997,theScienceCitationIndexreportedthat95%ofitsarticleswerewritteninEnglish,eventhoughonlyhalfofthemcamefromauthorsinEnglish-speakingcountries.

Significance

ModernEnglish,sometimesdescribedasthefirstgloballinguafranca,[8][9]isthedominantinternationallanguageincommunications,science,business,aviation,entertainment,radioanddiplomacy.[10]ItsspreadbeyondtheBritishIslesbeganwiththegrowthoftheBritishEmpire,andbythelatenineteenthcenturyitsreachwastrulyglobal.[11]ItisthedominantlanguageintheUnitedStates,whosegrowingeconomicandculturalinfluenceandstatusasaglobalsuperpowersinceWorldWarIIhavesignificantlyacceleratedthelanguage'sadoptionacrosstheplanet.[9]

AworkingknowledgeofEnglishhasbecomearequirementinanumberoffields,occupationsandprofessionssuchasmedicineandcomputing;asaconsequenceoverabillionpeoplespeakEnglishtoatleastabasiclevel(seeEnglishlanguagelearningandteaching).ItisalsooneofsixofficiallanguagesoftheUnitedNations.

LinguistssuchasDavidCrystalrecognizethatoneimpactofthismassivegrowthofEnglish,incommonwithothergloballanguages,hasbeentoreducenativelinguisticdiversityinmanypartsoftheworld,mostparticularlyinAustralasiaandNorthAmerica,anditshugeinfluencecontinuestoplayanimportantroleinlanguageattrition.[12]Similarly,historicallinguists,awareofthecomplexandfluiddynamicsoflanguagechange,arealwaysawareofthepotentialEnglishcontainsthroughthevastsizeandspreadofthecommunitiesthatuseitanditsnaturalinternalvariety,suchasinitscreolesandpidgins,toproduceanewfamilyofdistinctlanguagesovertime.[13]