Aims and outcomes Levnadsvillkor, attityder, värderingar och traditioner samt sociala, politiska och kulturella förhållanden i olika sammanhang och delar av världen där engelska används. Engelska språkets utbredning och ställning i världen. Talat språk, även med viss social och dialektal färgning, och texter som är instruerande, berättande, sammanfattande, förklarande, diskuterande, rapporterande och argumenterande, även via film och andra medier. Sammanhängande talat språk och samtal av olika slag, till exempel intervjuer.

What is a Global Language? A global language is characterized by the number of native/second language speakers, as well as its geographical distribution. A language acts as a lingua franca, a common language that enables people from diverse ethnicities to communicate on a, more or less, equal basis. ©Sebastian Kivi, March 2013

There might be drawbacks w/ a dominant global language: The increased adoption of a global language may lead to the weakening, and eventually, the disappearance of some minority languages. A worst-case scenario would be that all other languages disappear. Natural speakers may be at an unfair advantage over those who use it as a second, or even third, language The use of one language at the cost of excluding others may be seen as a threat to freedom of speech and the ideals of multiculturalism. ©Sebastian Kivi, March 2013

However, the dominance of an outside language or culture can lead to a backlash. People do not take kindly to having a language imposed on them, regardless of advantage or value. As long ago as 1908, Mahatma Gandhi said, in the context of colonial India: “To give millions a knowledge of English is to enslave them”. ©Sebastian Kivi, March 2013

What of the future? Official policies of bilingualism or multilingualism in countries with large minority language groups, such as are in place in countries like Canada, Belgium and Switzerland, are an expensive option and fraught with political difficulties. Increasingly, the long-term future of English as a global language probably lies in the hands of Asia, and especially the huge populations of India and China. ©Sebastian Kivi, March 2013