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What's the language of the future? | Salon.com
Source: salon.com
Article summary:
1. English has become the dominant language in the world due to factors such as British colonialism, technological advancements, and the exportation of English as a second language.
2. There are attempts to create alternative forms of English, such as Globish and Basic Global English, which aim to establish a neutral form of the language that can be understood by everyone.
3. While English is seen as a symbol of power and social status by many, it is also viewed as an instrument of oppression and imperialism by others. Its spread can be both homogenizing and appropriated in distinct ways by different cultures.
Article analysis:
The article titled "What's the language of the future?" from Salon.com discusses the dominance and spread of the English language around the world. While it provides some interesting historical context and insights into the reasons behind English's global diffusion, there are several potential biases and missing points of consideration in the article.
One potential bias is that the article focuses primarily on the positive aspects of English's spread, such as its use as a lingua franca in business, popular culture, shipping, diplomacy, computing, medicine, and education. It highlights how English is associated with modernity, work, higher education, commerce, economics, science, and technology. However, it fails to address any negative consequences or criticisms of this dominance.
The article also presents unsupported claims about English's enduring presence and growth. It states that wherever English has been used, it has lasted and increased its numbers of speakers and functions. While this may be true to some extent, there are many cases where local languages have been marginalized or driven to extinction due to colonialism and the imposition of English. The article does not acknowledge these negative impacts.
Furthermore, the article promotes a particular view of English as a language of riches, opportunity, scholarship, democracy, and moral right. It suggests that learning English equals economic capital and symbolizes choice and liberty. However, it fails to explore alternative perspectives that see English as an instrument of oppression associated with imperialism and capitalism.
The article also lacks exploration of counterarguments or potential risks associated with English's dominance. It briefly mentions challenges from Spanish and Mandarin Chinese but dismisses them by stating that they are not widely used as lingua francas. There is no discussion about potential cultural homogenization or loss of linguistic diversity due to English's spread.
Additionally, there is a lack of evidence provided for some claims made in the article. For example, it mentions that rich Koreans pay for tongue-lengthening surgeries to speak English convincingly, but there is no supporting evidence or sources cited for this claim.
Overall, the article presents a one-sided view of English's dominance and fails to address potential biases, missing points of consideration, unsupported claims, and unexplored counterarguments. It promotes English as a language of power and opportunity without adequately acknowledging its negative impacts or alternative perspectives.