Podcast

English as a global language has both positive and negative effects. Some argue that it can lead to a loss of culture and communication difficulties for non-English speakers. For example, the speaker's mom struggled to communicate at a local store. However, others believe that English as a global language makes communication easier and benefits business. It is important to strike a balance that values diversity and languages. Welcome to the Power of Language podcast. My name is Crystal and today I'm going to be talking about the positive and negative effects of having English as a global language. According to the scientist and professor Robin Wall Kimmer, she mentions that 70% of the world uses the English language. English has become a language that has been used more and is becoming a global language. Some might say that having English as a global language is a bad idea because it can lose culture, not everyone speaks it, and can be hard to translate sometimes. I talked to my mom about the idea of having English as a global language and she disliked the idea. She said that for her it would be a bad idea because she doesn't speak English and it would be hard for her to speak to someone at a local store in English. Growing up, I always had to translate from my parents' English to Spanish and it sometimes made them mad because not a lot of bilingual workers would work where they were checked out. She knows the simple words like how to greet people and how to say thank you, but when it comes to returns and exchanges, that's where she gets a bit confused. This happened once where my dad was buying a car and they were telling him all the benefits and good stuff that the retailer at the dealership tells you to try to scam you sometimes. My dad fell for it because he couldn't one, understand the guy and two, just didn't know how to answer all the things that he wanted and the things that he just didn't. As we can see, for them, having English as a global language could be a negative effect. There are a lot of languages that people speak which makes it harder for people to communicate sometimes. There are both advantages and disadvantages of having English as a global language. The author, Zachary, mentions that although there are some positives of having English as a global language, it could be scary for people who are afraid of losing their native language. On the contrary, some might say that having English as a global language might be a good idea because everyone knows the language and it's just easier to speak because we're kind of all on the same page. For example, if English was a global language and someone from Germany spoke English and they came to the United States, they would for sure be comfortable coming because they know that English is a global language and it is spoke everywhere. They wouldn't be confused on how to say this, how to pronounce this. They would just be able to go to a local store or anywhere and just speak the language that they are just used to speaking. The researcher and professor of business administration, Neely, says that English is a language that business uses. It is just common now. There are just some pros and cons of speaking English when it comes to business companies that they have to get used to doing and speaking. As the years go by, English, it might be implemented. English is just something that it's going to be in the workforce so there are some advantages to this but it could be hard because if you don't speak English, it could be hard to have a business because they usually send someone that speaks English since it kind of is becoming a global language and 70% of the world is already using it. Overall, English connects us globally, making it easier to work together but we need to be careful not to forget other languages and cultures. We need to find a balance that helps us appreciate each other and move forward as a diverse world. This is your host, Crystal, and thank you for listening to my Power of Language podcast.