The future of English

The transitions which English has suffered through the history since it arrives in the British Isles in the 5^th century have been remarkable and unimaginable. Nobody could imagine that in Middle Ages, French troops arrived to the Isles and established French as the most important language; nobody could imagine that at the end of Middle Ages it were English and not French or Latin the language of learning and knowledge across the world. What is obvious is the fact that we cannot predict the future of a language.

However, Crystal (1997a) has seen some negative factors affecting to the English as the global language in the future. One of his reasons is the fact that some nations have already rejected English as a language, and if this rejection became a world-wide trend, the future of English as a global language would endanger. Other of Crystal´s reason is that USA could lose its power as an economic, political and cultural superpower, and if it happens, English also loses its position as a global language; what is more, the use of English would become less desirable. Another possible threat to the global status of English is the global nature of English itself. There are many English-speakers which speak English as a second or even a foreign language, and it can provoke that their use of English can vary, and the variations could soon diverge from each other, losing their mutual intelligibility, and thus causing the fragmentation of English across the globe. 

According to David Graddol, English will not dominate as world language:

“English is likely to remain one of the world’s most important languages for the foreseeable future, but its future is more problematic — and complex — than most people appreciate”. 

He argues that the world´s population speaking English as a native language is falling, and says that the idea of English becoming the world language to the exclusion of other “is part its sell-by date”. Instead, he supports the idea of new generations of bilingual and multilingual speakers.

What we can state is the fact that the world's language system is undergoing rapid change because of demographic trends, new technology, and international communication. These changes could affect both written and spoken communication and probably, in the future, English would not be the dominant language anymore, as either other languages are emerging as a dominant –as Chinese- and English is learned as a second language, not as an official one. Moreover, the need to be multilingual will be enhanced.

But we can question ourselves: “Why not? Why cannot be English the global language in the future?” Indeed, it could be, as the future of a language is not such a predictable thing. 

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