One issue that was addressed in this video is the worry the the learning of the English language may sacrifice the learning of the Chinese language and even the Chinese culture. It was interesting to see how stressed English is, as one person said that "if you don't study English, then you don't really get anywhere" (3:40). This idea is something that I am not that familiar with because I do speak English, and I haven't been told that I won't be successful if I don't learn another language. Yes, people have told me that it would be helpful to learn Spanish, but it wouldn't be the cause of my success. The most that I can relate to this sentiment is the idea of college being the reason why you are successful. Due to this statement, I have seen how students and parents are sacrificing to make sure that they have a good education and get into a good college. In the lens of the Chinese citizens, I can see how they might sacrifice their own language because they are told that English is they way that you will gain success. The video showed how "a lot of people say that the simplicity of the English language may affect people's thinking and writing in Chinese" (16:25). First off, I think it is unfair that English is seen as this dominating language. While I do agree that it is the truth, and I also believe that there should be a common language, I don't think countries should sacrifice their native language to learn English. I could see a world in which English has the utmost importance, that other languages become extinct or in rare use. While I don't argue another language is the common language, I do argue that the importance of this language doesn't take the front seat over one's home language. I also believe that English speakers should learn a second language to communicate with others.

 English as a Dominating Language

A Conversation in How English is Spreading Across the Globe

The Expansion of English in China

    The summary of this video lies in the fact that China is stressing the importance of learning English. This video was created in 2011, and it showed that English has rapidly increased in its importance worldwide. In China specifically, English has become so important that business meetings are now in English, and it is an expectation for anyone who wants to become rich or powerful to learn the language. A lot of young adults are seen taking English lessons, a lot of them preparing for the success that the English language is said to bring them. Citizens are seen on the street practicing the English language in order to become more fluent.

One issue that was addressed in this video is the worry the the learning of the English language may sacrifice the learning of the Chinese language and even the Chinese culture. It was interesting to see how stressed English is, as one person said that "if you don't study English, then you don't really get anywhere" (3:40). This idea is something that I am not that familiar with because I do speak English, and I haven't been told that I won't be successful if I don't learn another language. Yes, people have told me that it would be helpful to learn Spanish, but it wouldn't be the cause of my success. The most that I can relate to this sentiment is the idea of college being the reason why you are successful. Due to this statement, I have seen how students and parents are sacrificing to make sure that they have a good education and get into a good college. In the lens of the Chinese citizens, I can see how they might sacrifice their own language because they are told that English is they way that you will gain success. The video showed how "a lot of people say that the simplicity of the English language may affect people's thinking and writing in Chinese" (16:25). First off, I think it is unfair that English is seen as this dominating language. While I do agree that it is the truth, and I also believe that there should be a common language, I don't think countries should sacrifice their native language to learn English. I could see a world in which English has the utmost importance, that other languages become extinct or in rare use. While I don't argue another language is the common language, I do argue that the importance of this language doesn't take the front seat over one's home language. I also believe that English speakers should learn a second language to communicate with others.

Global English Usage in the European Union

    Similar to the previous video, this video explained the importance of the English Language. In the European Union, the dominant language used to be French or German, but in the mid-1990s, it shifted to the English language. Now, we live in a world where "you can't live without English, but you can now live without French" (1:36). In the video, they spent time discussing how it is unfair for a meeting to take place in one's mother tongue and for another to use a secondary language. In parliament specifically, it is talked about how interpreters are used for every language to be represented. One final thing that was talked about in this video is the idea of a new English, Euro English, being developed. What this does is basically make English easier to understand for non-English speakers. This entire video speaks about the dominance that English has, why this causes problems and the different ways that they compromise with the other languages.

    In this video, they introduced one French citizen, who considers the English language as "a threat to the legitimacy of the European Union" (4:30). To me, this brought up a big question of, whether there should really be a dominant language? Yes, I do believe that it is much easier to have one common language that everyone can speak, but this brings up problems. One problem that we saw in the previous video is how a dominant language can cause the erasure of another. In this video, we see how it causes individuals to have an advantage if the dominant language is their home language. The video talked about how they use interpreters in the parliament to represent all languages. I think this is beneficial because it allows everyone to communicate in a business or political setting while speaking their own home language. It also allows more job opportunities for individuals, Beyond formal settings, I think about English as a dominant language in an informal setting. If you look at social media, there is a large amount of English content. However, I don't argue that this means everyone should learn English to enjoy content. We have gotten to a point where these social media sites have gained the proper technology to translate content. An argument to this idea of having a common language is that we don't need one. With tools, such as interpreters, for more formal settings, and translators/ai, for informal settings, we can communicate with others speaking our own language.

April Charo's Ted Talk

        This TedTalk talks about the revelation of how one's indigenous language works and how individuals communicate with each other. April Charo spoke on the word "my", and how it isn't usually used in the same way that we do in English. This is because there is a value in ownership, and, unless you owned something, you would not tend to put "my" in front of it. A big goal of this TedTalk was to bring back her indigenous language. She hopes to share it with her family and pass it down to her future child.

    It was talked about previously, but the concept of "ownership" and placing the word "my" in front of objects and individuals is not used in indigenous languages. April Charo learned how to say "hand me my" and she thought that she could "insert any object after those words" (4:45). She quickly learned that this was not a phrase used in this indigenous language, specifically because there isn't any ownership. Using the word "my" means that you own something, and, in many cases, we don't own something. We don't own water or flowers, unless we have purchased land that it sits on. Instead, they focus on the connection. I truly think that this is a beautiful and important idea, but it is a part of indigenous languages. It doesn't need to be translated into English languages because that is not what the English culture is. What is important is that we learn about these different languages and respect their cultures within their language.

Resources

OpenLearn from the Open University. (2011a, October 18). English in the European Union - Worlds of English (2/4). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKAeFi1IT54

OpenLearn from the Open University. (2011b, October 18). The expansion of English in China - worlds of English (1/4). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM-p_kMv_jg

projects, C. to W. (2024a, March 8). Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

projects, C. to W. (2024b, March 8). Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Tedx Talks. (2015, March 27). Indigenous language revitalization | april Charlo | TEDxUMontana. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kuC_IemiCs

Wikimedia Commons. (n.d.-a). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:European_Parliament_-_Hemicycle.jpg

Wikimedia Commons. (n.d.-b). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:European_Parliament_-_Hemicycle.jpg