Hello guys! I was asked why it is important to learn English language and I answered because it’s a universal language. Everybody, if not most people, knows and can speak the language. Don’t you think so? So if you have not adapted English, start recognizing its importance.

its widespread but if you look at the amount of people speaking a language, wouldn't Chinese be the universal one? there are far more that speak it due to sheer bulk of their population. saying everyone should learn english seems extremely anglocentric IMHO.

The only reason English has been important over the well, centuries, is because countries like Great Britain and the United States have been superpowers for a long time. Then other things like business and the economy, and the influx of immigrants made it even more important to be able to communicate in English. The U.S. culture also plays a role in this, in how it seems like a lot of people want to emulate what they're doing. One thing we should keep in mind, is that English is not more important or valuable than any other language, it's just... popular I guess. :]

It's important to learn English (or French) because not all services in Canada are offered in every language. It would be difficult to seek medical help if you didn't speak English or French!

Feona said it best.

But if you mean just in Canada, then the reasons should be pretty obvious. Kathy said what I was gonna say. =P

You're not going to get a decent job in Canada if you don't know English
(unless you want to be a Professor or TA )

It's not important to learn English. That is, unless you want a job in North America and much of Europe and Asia.

Originally Posted by Kareko

its widespread but if you look at the amount of people speaking a language, wouldn't Chinese be the universal one? there are far more that speak it due to sheer bulk of their population. saying everyone should learn english seems extremely anglocentric IMHO.

No, Chinese (Mandarin I presume is what you mean...) would not be the universal one. More people do not speak it (see my most recent post on the next page).

If you want to do business (which everything is based on), then you need English. Period. It's not anglocentric, it's reality. Don't pull that diversity BS on me.

Originally Posted by Briony

Hello guys! I was asked why it is important to learn English language and I answered because it’s a universal language. Everybody, if not most people, knows and can speak the language. Don’t you think so? So if you have not adapted English, start recognizing its importance.

A universal language is a language that is spoken worldwide. At this point, there is NO universal language. Not everyone can speak English so English is not the universal language. It's disrespectful and arrogant to believe that everyone should know English or that it is the most important language in the world.

Originally Posted by Taunton

No, Chinese (Mandarin I presume is what you mean...) would not be the universal one. More people speak it, but those people are not spread around the world and operating like 90% of the world's economy.

If you want to do business (which everything is based on), then you need English. Period. It's not anglocentric, it's reality. Don't pull that diversity BS on me.

Actually, what you've said is EXTREMELY anglocentric. The Chinese and Indian economies are growing, and their countries are gaining greater and greater status in the world. People are choosing to study Mandarin and Arabic languages over English. That is reality. If you got off your high horse, maybe you would realize that.

I don't want to be mean, but spelling/grammar mistakes get to me:

Why IS IT important to learn the English language?
or
Why IT IS important to learn the English language.

Personally I don't think any language is less useful than another, it just depends on your location and lifestyle. English and french are very useful here in Canada, but Mandarin I think would benefit you more in China. Just my two cents.

Originally Posted by rrtt

A universal language is a language that is spoken worldwide. At this point, there is NO universal language. Not everyone can speak English so English is not the universal language. It's disrespectful and arrogant to believe that everyone should know English or that it is the most important language in the world.



Actually, what you've said is EXTREMELY anglocentric. The Chinese and Indian economies are growing, and their countries are gaining greater and greater status in the world. People are choosing to study Mandarin and Arabic languages over English. That is reality. If you got off your high horse, maybe you would realize that.

I never said I didn't know that the Chinese and Indian economies are growing, or that their languages are important, but frankly, if you don't know English, you won't get anywhere in international business. Period. THAT is reality.

Do you think it's a coincidence that India has the second-most English speakers in the world?

You want reality? Read this: http://www.britishcouncil.or g/de/l...elt-future.pdf

English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of schoolchildren), followed by French (32%), German (18%), Spanish (8%), and Russian; while the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages amongst Europeans is 68% English, 25% French, 22% German, and 16% Spanish (Source)

If you want to work in international business, science, the military, government, commercial travel (including stewardesses and pilots, and ship captains), shipping, etc, you need to be able to communicate with people around the world, and currently the way most people do that is with English. In fact, for the majority of sectors that I've listed, if you don't know English, you can't get a job.

I'm not on a "high horse", and again, it's not Anglocentrism. It's reality.

Ben is correct.

English is the #1 language to know for international business. There is no such thing as a universal language right now, but as far as a business language (which one could argue is the most important aspect), English wins by a light year.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

Ben is correct.

English is the #1 language to know for international business. There is no such thing as a universal language right now, but as far as a business language (which one could argue is the most important aspect), English wins by a light year.

Good thing I know english then. >_< Lol.

Originally Posted by Taunton

I never said I didn't know that the Chinese and Indian economies are growing, or that their languages are important, but frankly, if you don't know English, you won't get anywhere in international business. Period. THAT is reality.

Do you think it's a coincidence that India has the second-most English speakers in the world?

Of course it isn’t a coincidence that India has the second most English speakers in the world....it was occupied by the British for over 300 years! If China ruled over India for more than 300 years, I am sure that India would have the second most Mandarin speakers in the world. The British ruled over India...they obviously left some of their traditions/customs behind. However, the fact that India has a lot of English speakers is not correlated with the growth of its economy. It is extremely elitist and snobby to think so....

Originally Posted by Taunton

English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of schoolchildren), followed by French (32%), German (18%), Spanish (8%), and Russian; while the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages amongst Europeans is 68% English, 25% French, 22% German, and 16% Spanish (Source)

Only 10% of the world’s population lives in Europe. You cannot possibly expect to represent the ENTIRE world by just looking at 10% of the population....

Originally Posted by Taunton

currently the way most people do that is with English.

Actually, as mentioned above, most people in the world speak Mandarin. Hence, if you wanted to communicate with the majority of the world, you would need Mandarin.

Originally Posted by Briony

Hello guys! I was asked why it is important to learn English language and I answered because it’s a universal language. Everybody, if not most people, knows and can speak the language. Don’t you think so? So if you have not adapted English, start recognizing its importance.

But anyways, that’s not the point of this thread. The question was if English is considered to be the universal language. Since English is not spoken by everyone in the world, it is not a universal language. The closest thing to the universal language would have to be math.

Why would math be the most universal language? Most people can't even add fractions.

I've seen the work of Grade 11 and 12 college math. It's A JOKE. And people STILL struggle with it.

If by math you mean adding and subtracting, then sure. But that's about it.