English as `lingua terra’

The world has become a village - a global village. It did not happen overnight; the world has been shrinking for many millennia.

So, in this global village you can get in touch with anybody living in any part of the world in a fraction of a second. The technology available is well-known even to a child and it needs no elaboration. However, one question remains to be answered.

The question is in what language we are going to communicate with people in other countries. According to a recent survey more people speak Mandarin Chinese than any other language.

Does it mean that Mandarin Chinese is on its way to become the global language? This is very unlikely because those who speak Mandarin Chinese live mainly in China.

The next language widely spoken in the world is English. It is so widespread that you can find a person who speaks English in almost all parts of the world. The language was spread with the expansion of the British Empire. Although the empire per se has crumbled down, the British exercise some influence over countries where English is used.

English is spoken by the people who belong to 32 or more different nations in the world. Even in countries where English is not the native tongue, the language has appealed to millions of people who seek to drink deep at the foundation of knowledge.

Despite emerging nationalism, people are beginning to realise the value of English in matters of science, technology, business, and international politics.

Most of the research done in Germany, France or Japan are available in English. At this rate English would have become the lingua terra or the language of the world if not for the nationalistic reactions against it.

Fear is mounting among Germans that their language is being eroded by waves of English. It is believed that seven out of ten Germans speak some English. However, there is a persisting trend of resentment against English terms being used in business and technology.

In fact, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party has taken steps to enthrone the German language at least constitutionally. Many German companies are now trying to use marketing slogans in their mother tongue instead of using English.

Most of the English slogans used by the German commercial community have been very popular. For instance, the perfume maker Douglas’s “Come in and find out” was a catchy slogan.

While the Germans are shying away from English, a large number of German words have been absorbed by the English language. Meanwhile, certain organisations such as the German Language Association are campaigning to protect their language.

The situation in Spain is almost similar. A controversial educational scheme that forced schools in Spain’s Valencia region to teach compulsory citizenship classes in the English medium has been dropped after a wave of protests from teachers and parents. Some Spanish educationists have claimed that teaching subjects in English is simply “absurd.”

The situation in Sri Lanka is somewhat tragic. Even after the British rulers left our shores the medium of teaching remained English until S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike made drastic changes with his `Sinhala only’ policy. The post-1956 era saw the emergence of a generation of scholars who were monolingual. They had studied either in the Sinhala or Tamil medium. It took a few more decades for the authorities to realise the futility of relegating the English language to the limbo of forgotten things.

Today Sri Lankans are clamouring for more and more English. However, there is an acute shortage of qualified teachers pseudo English tutors come to the surface. Like the sophists in ancient Greece they promise to teach the language in a week or a few months and collect exorbitant fees. They brazenly advertise their qualifications: BA (UG) or Diploma in English (UK). There are many diploma mills in the country. They sell their diplomas for a fee. Meanwhile, BA (UG) is a dubious title because `UG’ stand for `undergraduate’!

It is high time Sri Lanka followed the Indian model. India uses English as an official language to prevent the domination by any other Indian language. Therefore, if English is given its due place in our educational system, we may reap a lot of benefits. Most of our mono-lingual graduates are half-baked products. As a result, the few bilingual graduates are in great demand.

Some scholars who felt the need for a global language once tried to promote an artificial language called Esperanto in 1887. It was, no doubt, an easy-to-learn language. However, like all artificial products it lacked vitality. Therefore, Esperanto will not stand a chance of becoming `lingua terra.’

Another attempt to forge a global language was made in the Mediterranean world in the medieval times. Scholars developed a new language called `lingua franca’ (Language of the Franks) which was a hotchpotch of Italian, French, Spanish, Greek and Arabic. Meanwhile, an innovation called “pidgin English” arose in eastern Asia. However, Esperanto, lingua franca, and pidgin English have not been accepted as lingua terra by the international community.

Today the international community is turning to English and considers it as the future lingua terra. Such a global language will obviate the supremacy accorded to one particular national language in a country.

English has the remarkable quality of borrowing words from other languages. For instance, more than half of the words in the present day English come from other languages.

Through a trial-and-error process both India and Sri Lanka have realised the futility of translating medical, legal and technological terms into their own languages. Medical students now learn Latin and Greek terms while following their courses in national languages. Law students are quite familiar with `lex aquilia, de jure, habeas corpus’ and `animus injuriandi.’ If we try to translate these terms into Sinhala or Tamil they will not convey the same meaning and impact.

Enthroning English as lingua terra is likely to be opposed by two powerful groups.

One group consists of those who hate English because they had never made a genuine attempt to learn this fascinating language. The second group consists of language fanatics who are hell-bent on enthroning their own mother tongue.

Birds and other animals communicate using their own language. They spread love through their language not understood by human beings. If man understood animal language, he would not kill any animal and eat its flesh!

Meanwhile, man is using language to divide mankind and sow hatred in society. Whatever that may be, English has no close competitor to be lingua terra - the global language.