Is there really a universal language or a language of the world ? There really is none, but one language comes very close: English. Nearly 1.5 billion people around the world speak English either as a native or a second language.
Surprisingly, English is not the leading native language per se – that title goes to Chinese Mandarin and Spanish comes next – but in terms of usage in everyday life, on the Internet, in conferences, in books etc, it is virtually the “lingua franca” of the world.
Today, we celebrate this language, which is widely spoken in our country as well as in South Asia. April 23 is the UN’s English Language Day – coincidentally the day marks the birth and death anniversary of English playwright William Shakespeare who had almost single handedly added thousands of words and expressions to the language.
Today’s English differs somewhat from the language penned by Shakespeare (all languages evolve over time and generations), who heralded in a renaissance of the language that continue to this day.
It is now the first language in over 65 countries and the dominant language on the Web. It is also the most widely learned second or foreign language in all non-English speaking countries.
English is actually an Indo-European Germanic language, though today’s German sounds much different from English. It is believed to be named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to what is now England.
English is now over 1,400 years old and has been heavily influenced by French and Latin – it is estimated that an average English speaker could be knowing as many as 15,000 French, Latin and related words without ever realizing it.
English is a living language that continuously gets words from other languages – just last year, the Oxford Dictionary recognized the South Asian term “Aiyo” used to describe a feeling of despair as a new entrant to the English language.
Incidentally, both English and Sinhala (and indeed most subcontinent languages) seem to be having a common ancestor as denoted by similarities in many words such as Wathura (Water), Paha (five) and Ata (eight).
There are also many English words that both Sinhala and Tamil borrowed after the British began to rule the island in 1815.
In fact, English words have crept into many languages around the world and some have become separate dialects.
Some countries such as France are fighting this phenomenon to maintain the purity of their native languages, not always with success.
The biggest turning point for the English language was the invention of the printing press.
Although the printing machine was invented in Germany, it was England and the English language that made maximum use of it with the mass printing of the King James Bible (the Bible is still the biggest selling book in the world).
William Caxton was the first operator (1476) of an English press. Shakespeare was an author who was at the right place at the right time, as the printed word took off. People of all ages began to learn to read, and suddenly, a vast amount of knowledge was accessible to them.
Still, the majority of books and e-books published around the world are in the Queen’s Language. All Hollywood movies are originally made in English and then dubbed in other languages (if you watch Hollywood DVDs or Blu-rays, you will notice this).
English is also the dominant language of international diplomacy, as well as scientific discourse. It is generally very difficult to get ahead in these fields without having some knowledge of English.
It is also increasingly becoming the language of choice of protestors and demonstrators all over the world, even in countries where English is not spoken at all, the reason being the global television coverage on CNN, BBC et al. They hope that by writing their grievances in English, it will get more international attention.
This example shows the extent of the reach of English around the world. The language spread worldwide primarily as a result of colonization – this is indeed how Sri Lanka (and India, Canada, Australia etc) ‘inherited’ English.
Later, shortwave radio broadcasting and global television helped the spread of English. Today, the Internet has taken over this role. While spoken English does have variations even within a single country, the differences between written UK English and American English are better known.
Americans, I dare say, have more sensible spelling in most instances (does ‘traveller’ really need two ‘L’s ?), but here in Sri Lanka we tend to follow the British English system.
This is not the only complexity regarding English – learners have to navigate through a labyrinthine set of spelling and grammatical rules that sometimes confuse even experts of the language.
But, once you master the English language, the world is your oyster. That takes us to the many proverbs and expressions that lighten up the language – many invented by Shakespeare himself, but plenty of others have come down through the generations.
However difficult it may seem at first, English must be a part of education for all schoolchildren everywhere.
Sri Lanka has been doing this for decades and some schools even teach all subjects in English, yet, many students from remote areas have a very limited grasp of English.
This affects students even after they leave school or university, as they are unable to communicate effectively in English. In the job market, they tend to lose to English-speaking students from Colombo and Kandy.
Thus, there should be a more effective program to teach English islandwide, with more teachers posted to areas where there is a dearth of teachers of English. Children should be encouraged to read more books written in English as well as English newspapers.
The onus is on school and municipal libraries to stock more English books – they can always ask well wishers to donate such books.
Sadly, there is a serious lacuna in English programming on all local TV channels due to the current trend of dubbing everything into Sinhala and Tamil.
However, it is wiser to broadcast at least foreign children’s and educational programs in the original English, with Sinhala and Tamil subtitles.
This way, children will be able to follow the dialogues to some extent. English must be recognized more widely as a link language that can bring communities together in Sri Lanka, along with the ongoing program to teach Sinhala to children from the Tamil speaking community and vice versa.
This will produce a truly trilingual generation in the not-too-distant future and enable the nation to achieve true reconciliation. English has always brought people closer together and Sri Lanka will be no exception.