Dominance of the English Language Flashcards
How many English speakers were there in 1600?
5 million
How many English speakers are there in the present day?
2 billion.
How many L1 Speakers does David Crystal estimate there are?
400 million
How many L2 Speakers does David Crystal estimate there are?
400 million
How many ELF Speakers does David Crystal estimate there are?
700 million
Why do languages become global languages?
The original users of the language have power
Give an example of a global Roman language before English
Latin
Why did Latin become a global language?
Because it was the main language of the Roman Empire
When did the phase of spreading English last from?
1600 to 1700
How many phases of the English language being spread by the British Empire are there?
2
Name a country British people migrated to
America
What happened over time once the English speakers arrived in areas like America?
New ways of speaking English were developed
What happened over time once these English speakers arrived in Africa and Asia in the second phase?
They developed new varieties of English
Name one variety of English created in this phase.
Indian-English
Which nation in the present day is responsible for a large portion of the spread of English?
The USA
Name a supranational organisation that use English as their main language to communicate
United Nations
What is the main language of publishing in the Top 100 highest grossing films?
English
What percentage of all language used on the internet was English 20 years ago?
80%
What percentage of all language used on the internet is English in the present day?
55%
What is the reason for the initial dominance of English on the internet?
The Internet was mostly only used by the Western World at the time
Why was English a lingua franca in the early days of the internet?
Non-native speakers would need to use the most common language online
Why is English a less dominant language on the Internet in the present day?
Most countries now have access to the internet
