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A brief history of the new lingua franca of science and technology
by Kirk St. Amant
The world is more unified now than at any other point in human history. Part of this unification results from the spread of communications technology -- fiber optic telephone lines, e-mail, and the Internet -- which allows almost every person on earth to talk to a neighbor, literally, at the speed of light.
The world is also united by a new global commerce. Nations as diverse as Germany and Japan regularly exchange goods. Moreover, the new age of global corporations involves multiple nations regularly create a single finished product. These developments in communication technology and international commerce have allowed English to come to the forefront as the new global tongue.
However, the global spread of English does not necessarily mean that the international communication tasks of English-speaking technical writers will suddenly become much easier. On the contrary, the spread of English as the world lingua franca brings with it a series of new challenges that will require new understandings of global communication and new communication strategies.
The seeds of English as a global language were first sown by the British colonization efforts of the 17th century. As Britain began to establish overseas colonies, it also began to introduce its language to new regions of the globe. Within a century, Britain and its language seemed to have established themselves in every corner of the world. British colonial officers from Egypt to Hong Kong made English the new language of government and one of the major languages of commerce, and natives wishing to prosper under British rule needed to learn English.
By the end of the 19th century, the former British colony of America began to follow suit as a colonial power with overseas holdings. As a result of the Spanish-American War, the United States gained new territories in the Caribbean and in Asia, while other political developments led to colonies, America exported its government officials, its soldiers, its businesspeople, and its language.
The end of the Second World War marked a major step in the development of English as a world language. Shortly after the war, Britain began to grant independence to many of its overseas colonies and protectorates (e.g., India, Malaysia, and Israel), and America soon followed suit. As colonial rule ended, new economic and political developments ensured that English would remain an important world language.
Insulated from much of the devestation of the Second World War, America had grown prosperous as a result of wartime industrial developments. These developments allowed the United States to emerge from the conflict as one of the strongest economic powers on Earth. This new economic strength meant that America would play a key role in the newly developing post-war economy and that the status of English as an important world language would be ensured.
At the same time, other postwar political developments contributed to the global importance of English. The end of the Second World War saw the emergence of two military superpowers; the United States and the Soviet Union. Even before the war ended, may European nations began to fear the prospect of a Soviet-dominated Europe. The United States shared this fear and began to work together with the nations of Western Europe to develop certain alliances designed to prevent a potential Soviet takeover. These preventative efforts took on two main forms. The first form was economic: the United States began a plan of foreign economic assistance designed to rebuild the shattered nations of Western Europe. The second form was military. The United States formed a series of military alliances and built bases to station American troops in Western Europe to form a military barrier to the Soviet Union's desires to expand.
The fear of Soviet expansion soon led the United States to extend its economic and military presence to the nations of Asia (e.g., Japan and Korea). The fear of Soviet world domination also prompted America to become involved in the nations of Latin and South America and Africa. The attempts to stop communist expansion through economic and military programs helped to strengthen the importance of the United States as a global power and enhanced the importance of English as a global lingua franca.
These times also saw a global expansion of American culture through American films, music, and television programming. America's entertainment industry emerged from the war unscathed, and it soon began to provide the war-tom nations of the world with a flood of readily-available American programming and entertainment. Over time, American culture increasingly dominated international entertainment, and the global significance of America's culture and its language continued to grow. For the next forty years, these economic, political, and entertainment-based influences helped maintain the global importance of both American culture and the English-language.
The 1990's marked yet another new point in the importance of English as a world language. This time, however, the spread of English was not linked to economic assistance or military might.
The new driving force behind English as an international language involved new forms of American-generated communication technology: the Internet and the World Wide Web. These communication tools made accessing information as simple as pushing a button and made accessing the rest of the globe as easy as turning on a laptop or moving a mouse. As the authors of A Brief History of the Internet explain, the Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location.
By controlling the development of new means of global communications technologies, America was also able to enhance the status of English as a language of international communication.
As the Internet and the World Wide Web emerged from America, their primary form, content, and language of communication reflected American culture and the language of that culture. Moreover, HTML, the programming language needed to set up and to maintain a Web site, is based on the English language.
This English foundation means that non-native English speakers wishing to use this new communication tool need to learn some English if they wish to be participants on the World Wide Web.
At present, English is the most widely spoken language on the planet. It currently has 1.4 billion speakers, outnumbering the next most widely spoken language, Mandarin Chinese, by some 400 million speakers. English is the official language of 60 countries, and an important business language in at least two dozen others, including Israel, Egypt, Mexico, and Germany. The scope of the English speaking world also includes certain startling statistics. For example, it is the official language of such international organizations as the European Union, the European international trucking union, Iveco, and the proposed Baltic battalion of military forces. English is also one of the official languages of the United Nations, NATO, the IMF, the International Red Cross, and the World Court. Moreover, English has emerged as the new language of science and technology. As the technical communicator Anne Eisenberg points out, "English has vanquished its linguistic rivals to become the lingua franca of international scientific publications."
As the end of the Cold War has left America as the only remaining superpower and as the importance and use of the Internet and the World Wide Web increase every day, the status of English as a global lingua franca is certainly ensured.
The new driving force behind English as an international language involved new forms of American-generated communication technology: the Internet and the World Wide Web.
