英语辩论赛:英语比汉语应成为通用语言
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发布时间：2022-05-30 20:11
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时间：2023-11-10 08:24
Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era.[9] While English is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a second language around the world. Some linguists (such as David Graddol) believe that it is no longer the exclusive cultural property of "native English speakers", but is rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it continues to grow.[9] It is, by international treaty, the official language for aerial and maritime communications.[45] English is an official language of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including the International Olympic Committee.
English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of schoolchildren), followed by French (32%), German (18%), and Spanish (8%).[46] Among non-English speaking EU countries, a large percentage of the population claimed to be able to converse in English in the Netherlands (87%), Sweden (85%), Denmark (83%), Luxembourg (66%), Finland (60%), Slovenia (56%), Austria (53%), Belgium (52%), and Germany (51%).[47] Norway and Iceland also have a large majority of competent English-speakers.[citation needed]
Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world. English is also the most commonly used language in the sciences.[9] In 1997, the Science Citation Index reported that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries.
Significance
Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca,[8][9] is the dominant international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomacy.[10] Its spread beyond the British Isles began with the growth of the British Empire, and by the late nineteenth century its reach was truly global.[11] It is the dominant language in the United States, whose growing economic and cultural influence and status as a global superpower since World War II have significantly accelerated the language's adoption across the planet.[9]
A working knowledge of English has become a requirement in a number of fields, occupations and professions such as medicine and computing; as a consequence over a billion people speak English to at least a basic level (see English language learning and teaching). It is also one of six official languages of the United Nations.
Linguists such as David Crystal recognize that one impact of this massive growth of English, in common with other global languages, has been to rece native linguistic diversity in many parts of the world, most particularly in Australasia and North America, and its huge influence continues to play an important role in language attrition.[12] Similarly, historical linguists, aware of the complex and fluid dynamics of language change, are always aware of the potential English contains through the vast size and spread of the communities that use it and its natural internal variety, such as in its creoles and pidgins, to proce a new family of distinct languages over time.[13]
