English Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

English Language - Essay Example English acts as a binding force and has been doing so for quite some time, apart from the United States, in countries like India and Australia too. India is a land of diverse cultures and myriad languages and in spite of the fact, has remained remarkably united. Some of its credit goes to the English language which was unanimously elected as the official language of the country. As for Australia, it is like America one huge melting pot of culturally and linguistically diverse people. English is the only unifying factor among the different immigrants of Australia. The Australian government has recently made it very clear that the acquisition of English is mandatory to people applying for its citizenship. Krauthammer C clearly points out in his article that "One of the major reasons for America's great success as the world's first "universal nation," for its astonishing and unmatched capacity for assimilating immigrants, has been that an automatic part of acculturation was the acquisition of English." Even though we may dismiss the intrinsic-power hypothesis that English possesses certain linguistic characteristics, which would make it the most preferred language on Earth as a racial claim, it nevertheless has to be considered. The simplicity of inflections in English and the flexibility of functions, which has grown over the last five centuries as a result of the loss of inflections, have greatly contributed to its dominance and popularity. One other inherent nature of English is the openness of its vocabulary which implies the free admission of words from other languages and the ready creation of compounds and derivatives. America therefore, is endowed with a unifying language which is indeed a blessing, as Krauthammer C points out But it has also blessed us, because of the accident of our origins, with a linguistic unity that brings a critically needed cohesion to a nation as diverse, multiracial and multiethnic as America." Though English spread all over the world because of exploitation and colonization, more than a billion people around the world today speak English. It is well on its way to becoming the world's language. Its cohesive powers to unite people from different countries, cultures and languages cannot be disputed. If America intends to successfully assimilate its diverse immigrants it cannot but expect the English language to give it a helping hand. Krauthammer C could not put it in a stronger way "English is the U.S.'s national and common language. But that may change over time unless we change our assimilation norms. Making English the official language is the first step toward establishing those norms."English has borrowed words and phrases from almost three-fourths of the world's languages and has both the genius and flexibility to make them its own. Every known language therefore, has something in common with English. What other world language has the same bonding and binding powers and also the right to be elected the "official" language of the US1 Euphemisms are words used to underplay the ugly. They are one of the ways through which we get a secret glance into a particular society's hypocrisy. If we observe them carefully in relation to the circumstances that give birth to them, it will be