English: the International Language

As I stepped off the airplane and arrived in Paris, I was filled with excitement and wonderment.  My eyes were fixated on the building structure and architectural design as we rode in the taxi that took us to our hotel.  Everything seemed so majestic, so magical.  Yet for some reason, the setting that I was viewing outside was not the same in the taxi cab.  Instead of being swept away by the Paris skyline with the sweet sounds of French music, I was listening to Sean Paul.  In a taxi cab. In Paris.  Last time I checked, the French spoke French, so why was there English playing on the radio?

At first I didn’t really think anything of it.  Yes, it did bother me since I wanted to experience the full Paris experience, but certainly the outside world was not like this.  No, I thought to myself, the outside world is probably filled with French dialect and people who can talk in a language that is way too complex for me.  Sadly I was mistaken.  Once we arrived to our hotel, people were speaking very clear English.  We must have stuck out because everywhere we went, the waiters or even common people talked to us in English.  I was somewhat disappointed.  The family that I went with thought that it was great and was thankful that we didn’t have to struggle with the complicated language.  But as for me, well, I felt cheated.  Here I come to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, to see Notre Dame, and to experience the culture and the people, yet I’m surrounded by others who can speak English. 

The English language is one that is rapidly becoming the “International Language” throughout the world.  Many countries teach their children different languages (English being one of them).  Once the child is grown, they have knowledge of speaking over three different languages and are perfectly fluent in all three.  When comparing this to our society, we look like a joke.  We teach our children one language and one language only: English.  We do not think about other countries or different cultures.  Instead we just think about ourselves and have the other countries cater to our needs. 

“You’re in America, so speak English” is one phrase that I have heard time and time again, but what about the rest of the world?  As American’s we feel that everyone else needs to cater to our wants and our needs.  Yet we’re getting what we want due to the rapid spread of English throughout the world.  If it was the other way around, I think people would see it differently. Take the Catholic Church of instance.  Recently, the pope made a remark about having the mass services spoken in Latin, like it used to be.  Many people that I know were very upset about this.  Since they don’t know the language, they wouldn’t understand what was being said; therefore they probably wouldn’t go to mass at all.   

In Robert Burton’s book “An Artist of the Floating World”, he questions the rapid spread of the English language and what it is doing to the different cultures throughout the world.  “ …One world language is lost every two weeks when the last speaking member of that linguistic group dies.  At this rate 2,500 native tongues will disappear in the next 100 years” (127).  I find this somewhat of a shock and very appalling.  Being able to speak a different language from a certain culture not only represents your ancestors, but also yourself.  People that are being forced to learn English not only end up losing their native language, but the also start to lose who they truly are.  Plus, there are many emotions and words that are spoken in other culture’s native tongue that cannot be translated to English.

Even though I don’t approve of what is happening throughout the world, I know that there is no way to change it.  English is starting to take over and will soon shadow and demolish all the other foreign languages throughout the world.  The process of traveling and being able to talk to other people across the globe will be easier and the beauty of another foreign language will be lost and forgotten forever.