The future status of English - Yazzmín Zavala

THE FUTURE STATUS OF ENGLISH AS THE GLOBAL LANGUAGE IS ASSURED

The communication is the key of all the relations between persons around the world, that's the principal reason why it would be easier to speak an only language. Approximately 700 million people speak English as their first or second language. In Brazil, there is a particular person that doesn’t agree with that theory, his name is Aldo Rebelo."People fell humiliated and offended by having to pronounce in a language that is not theirs", he says. Although there are the beliefs of some persons that their native language should be conserved without the influence of any foreign language, English has more possibilities to turn into the global language but without leaving the native language.

According to Rebelo, people must speak in their native language without the influence of other languages; nonetheless, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters claim that it is impossible to legislate how people talk. The Majority of business, commerce, series, movies and also some information are in English. We can’t avoid the globalization that we're living these decades and we have to accept that English is on track to be the most spoken language.

Another idea from Rebelo is that if we can use our native words there’s not need to employ words in others languages. “We can say entrega a domicilio because everyone knows what it means, so why to use the word delivery?" Rebelo asks; however, a lingerie store manager says, "...'sale' is shorter than promoción...everybody knows what 'sale' means...". Many people use some words from other languages because it's easier to employ them and in some cases words can be adopted and transformed into the language that adopted them like: guachiman, sanguche, skate, etc.

In fact, the globalization that we're living is more and more notorious and unstoppable, we have to adapt to it without forgetting our roots. There is a greater variety of information in English to another language, from instructions for a cellphone until the latest world news. It's obvious that we can't lose our culture but it's not negative to know and practice other languages. We have to be ready to enter to a new world. Good luck!

1. “The world Language.” The economist. Millenium Issue 31 Dec.1999:85

2.Downie, Andrew. “Brazil Consideres Linguistic Barricade”.

                                                                              Yazzmín Zavala Elizarbe