English as the current Lingua Franca

1. English as the current Lingua Franca

2. English • English is the current lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation. It has replaced French as the lingua franca of diplomacy since World War II. The rise of English in diplomacy began in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I, when the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as in French, the dominant language used in diplomacy until that time.

3. The widespread use of English was further advanced by the prominent international role played by English-speaking nations (the United States and the Commonwealth of Nations) in the aftermath of World War II, particularly in the establishment and organization of the United Nations. English is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (the other five being French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish). The seating and roll-call order in sessions of the United Nations and its subsidiary and affiliated organizations is determined by alphabetical order of the English names of the countries.

4. When the United Kingdom became a colonial power, English served as the lingua franca of the colonies of the British Empire. In the post-colonial period, some of the newly created nations which had multiple indigenous languages opted to continue using English as the lingua franca to avoid the political difficulties inherent in promoting any one indigenous language above the others.

5. The British Empire established the use of English in regions around the world such as North America, India, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, so that by the late 19th century its reach was truly global.In the latter half of the 20th century, widespread international use of English was much reinforced by the global economic, financial, scientific, military, and cultural pre-eminence of the English-speaking countries and especially the U.S. Today.

6. More than half of all scientific journals are published in English, while in France, almost one third of all natural science research appears in English,[21] lending some support to English being the lingua franca of science and technology. English is also the lingua franca of international Air Traffic Control communications.

7. Langue and parole • Langue and parole are more than just 'language and speech'

8. Langue • La langue is the whole system of language that precedes and makes speech possible. A sign is a basic unit of langue. • Learning a language, we master the system of grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation. These are all elements of langue.

9. Parole • Parole • Parole is the concrete use of the language, the actual utterances. It is an external manifestation of langue. It is the usage of the system, but not the system.

10. Now What? • In groups of three, Choose one of the following prompts and write an essay of 4 paragraphs on the following: • First Language interference means the interference of various linguistic structures of one language in the use of another foreign language. These intrusions can be at the level of phonology, morphology, syntax, discourse, pragmatics, and semantics. Give at least two examples of L1 interference from your own experience.

11. 1- The English Language spoken in the United States differs from traditional British language due to isolation from the parent language, independent growth and associated terminology, varying philosophies and politics and the American character.