UDESC Matutino 2013/1

TEXT 1

English as an international language

[1] About one hundred years ago many educated people learned and spoke French when

they met people from other countries. Today most people speak English when they

meet foreigners. It has become the new international language. There are more people

who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first

[5] language. Why is this?

There are many reasons why English has become so popular. One of them is that

English has become the language of business. Another important reason is that popular

American culture (like movies, music, and McDonald's) has quickly spread throughout

the world. It has brought its language with it.

[10] Is it good that English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly? I don't know. It's

important to have a language that the people of the earth have in common. Our world

has become very global and we need to communicate with one another. On the other

hand, English is a fairly complicated language to learn and it brings its culture with it. Do

we really need that?

[15] Scientists have already tried to create an artificial language that isn't too difficult and

doesn't include any one group's culture. It is called Esperanto. But it hasn't become

popular. But maybe the popularity of English won't last that long either. Who knows?

There are more people in the world who speak Chinese than any other language.

Maybe someday Chinese will be the new international language.

www.5minuteenglish.com Accessed on June 19th