What is a Global Language? Back to Top
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At the height of the Roman Empire, Latin was the lingua franca of most of Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa
At the height of the Roman Empire, Latin was the lingua franca of most of Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa
(from Wikipedia)
There is no official definition of "global" or "world" language, but it essentially refers to a language that is learned and spoken internationally, and is characterized not only by the number of its native and second language speakers, but also by its geographical distribution, and its use in international organizations and in diplomatic relations. A global language acts as a “lingua franca”, a common language that enables people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities to communicate on a more or less equitable basis.
Historically, the essential factor for the establishment of a global language is that it is spoken by those who wield power. Latin was the lingua franca of its time, although it was only ever a minority language within the Roman Empire as a whole. Crucially, though, it was the language of the powerful leaders and administrators and of the Roman military - and, later, of the ecclesiastical power of the Roman Catholic Church - and this is what drove its rise to (arguably) global language status. Thus, language can be said to have no independent existence of its own, and a particular language only dominates when its speakers dominate (and, by extension, fails when the people who speak it fail).
The influence of any language is a combination of three main things: the number of countries using it as their first language or mother-tongue, the number of countries adopting it as their official language, and the number of countries teaching it as their foreign language of choice in schools. The intrinsic structural qualities of a language, the size of its vocabulary, the quality of its literature throughout history, and its association with great cultures or religions, are all important factors in the popularity of any language. But, at base, history shows us that a language becomes a global language mainly due to the political power of its native speakers, and the economic power with which it is able to maintain and expand its position.
Why is a Global Language Needed? Back to Top
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Member states of the United Nations
Member states of the United Nations
(from Wikipedia)
It is often argued that the modern “global village” needs a “global language”, and that (particularly in a world of modern communications, globalized trade and easy international travel) a single lingua franca has never been more important. With the advent since 1945 of large international bodies such as the United Nations and its various offshoots - the UN now has over 50 different agencies and programs from the World Bank, World Health Organization and UNICEF to more obscure arms like the Universal Postal Union - as well as collective organizations such as the Commonwealth and the European Union, the pressure to establish a worldwide lingua franca has never been greater. As just one example of why a lingua franca is useful, consider that up to one-third of the administration costs of the European Community is taken up by translations into the various member languages.
Some have seen a planned or constructed language as a solution to this need. In the short period between 1880 and 1907, no less than 53 such “universal artificial languages” were developed. By 1889, the constructed language Volap�k claimed nearly a million adherents, although it is all but unknown to day. Today the best known is Esperanto, a deliberately simplified language, with just 16 rules, no definite articles, no irregular endings and no illogical spellings. A sentence like “It is often argued that the modern world needs a common language with which to communicate” would be rendered in Esperanto as “Oni ofte argumentas ke la moderna mondo bezonas komuna linguon por komunikado”, not difficult to understand for anyone with even a smattering of Romance languages.
Many of these universal languages (including Esperanto) were specifically developed with the view in mind that a single world language would automatically lead to world peace and unity. Setting aside for now the fact that such languages have never gained much traction, it has to be said this assumption is not necessarily well-founded. For instance, historically, many wars have broken out within communities of the same language (e.g. the British and American Civil Wars, the Spanish Civil War, Vietnam, former Yugoslavia, etc) and, on the other hand, the citizens of some countries with multiple languages (e.g. Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, etc) manage to coexist, on the whole, quite peaceably.
Is a Global Language Necessarily “A Good Thing”? Back to Top
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Language hotspots, where many languages are near extinction
Language hotspots, where many languages are near extinction
(from National Geographic, using dat
ภาษาสากลคืออะไร กลับไปด้านบนรูปภาพที่ความสูงของจักรวรรดิโรมัน ละตินถูกนาฟรังซ์น้อย ๆ ของที่สุดของยุโรป เอเซียไมเนอร์ และแอฟริกาเหนือที่ความสูงของจักรวรรดิโรมัน ละตินถูกนาฟรังซ์น้อย ๆ ของที่สุดของยุโรป เอเซียไมเนอร์ และแอฟริกาเหนือ(จากวิกิพีเดีย)เป็นคำอย่างเป็นทางการของส่วนกลาง"หรือภาษา"โลก" แต่มันเป็นหลักหมายถึงภาษาที่เป็นการเรียนรู้ และพูดในระดับสากล และโดดเด่นไม่เพียงแต่ โดยจำนวนของลำโพงพื้นเมือง และสองภาษา แต่ ด้วยการกระจายทางภูมิศาสตร์ของมัน และการใช้งาน ในองค์กรระหว่างประเทศ และความสัมพันธ์ทางการทูต ภาษาสากลทำหน้าที่เป็น"ภาษากลาง" ภาษาทั่วไปที่ทำให้คนจากหลากหลายอาชีพและเชื้อสามารถสื่อสารบนพื้นฐานความเท่าเทียมกันมากหรือน้อยในอดีต ปัจจัยสำคัญสำหรับการจัดตั้งเป็นภาษาสากลเป็นที่เป็นที่พูด โดยคนควงไฟ ละตินถูกนาฟรังซ์ lingua เวลา แม้ว่ามันเท่านั้นที่เคยเป็นภาษาของชนกลุ่มน้อยภายในจักรวรรดิโรมันทั้งหมด ติดกระดาษ แม้ มันเป็นภาษา ของผู้นำที่มีประสิทธิภาพและผู้ดูแลระบบ และโรมัน ทหาร - และ หลัง อำนาจศาสนจักรของโรมันคาทอลิก - และนี่คือสิ่งขับเมืองสถานะภาษาทั่วโลก (เนื้อหา) ดังนั้น สามารถพูดภาษาได้ไม่ดำรงอยู่เป็นอิสระของตัวเอง และภาษาเฉพาะเพียงกุมอำนาจ เมื่อครองของลำโพง (และ นาม สกุล เมื่อคนที่พูดมันล้มเหลวล้มเหลว)The influence of any language is a combination of three main things: the number of countries using it as their first language or mother-tongue, the number of countries adopting it as their official language, and the number of countries teaching it as their foreign language of choice in schools. The intrinsic structural qualities of a language, the size of its vocabulary, the quality of its literature throughout history, and its association with great cultures or religions, are all important factors in the popularity of any language. But, at base, history shows us that a language becomes a global language mainly due to the political power of its native speakers, and the economic power with which it is able to maintain and expand its position. Why is a Global Language Needed? Back to TopIMAGEMember states of the United NationsMember states of the United Nations(from Wikipedia)It is often argued that the modern “global village” needs a “global language”, and that (particularly in a world of modern communications, globalized trade and easy international travel) a single lingua franca has never been more important. With the advent since 1945 of large international bodies such as the United Nations and its various offshoots - the UN now has over 50 different agencies and programs from the World Bank, World Health Organization and UNICEF to more obscure arms like the Universal Postal Union - as well as collective organizations such as the Commonwealth and the European Union, the pressure to establish a worldwide lingua franca has never been greater. As just one example of why a lingua franca is useful, consider that up to one-third of the administration costs of the European Community is taken up by translations into the various member languages.Some have seen a planned or constructed language as a solution to this need. In the short period between 1880 and 1907, no less than 53 such “universal artificial languages” were developed. By 1889, the constructed language Volap�k claimed nearly a million adherents, although it is all but unknown to day. Today the best known is Esperanto, a deliberately simplified language, with just 16 rules, no definite articles, no irregular endings and no illogical spellings. A sentence like “It is often argued that the modern world needs a common language with which to communicate” would be rendered in Esperanto as “Oni ofte argumentas ke la moderna mondo bezonas komuna linguon por komunikado”, not difficult to understand for anyone with even a smattering of Romance languages.Many of these universal languages (including Esperanto) were specifically developed with the view in mind that a single world language would automatically lead to world peace and unity. Setting aside for now the fact that such languages have never gained much traction, it has to be said this assumption is not necessarily well-founded. For instance, historically, many wars have broken out within communities of the same language (e.g. the British and American Civil Wars, the Spanish Civil War, Vietnam, former Yugoslavia, etc) and, on the other hand, the citizens of some countries with multiple languages (e.g. Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, etc) manage to coexist, on the whole, quite peaceably. Is a Global Language Necessarily “A Good Thing”? Back to TopIMAGELanguage hotspots, where many languages are near extinctionLanguage hotspots, where many languages are near extinction(from National Geographic, using dat
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