gennemlæsning af engelskaflevering.

 Er der en venlig sjæl der vil gennemlæse denne engelskaflevering for fejl?  Det behøver ikke være grundtigt, men blot det der eventuelt springer i øjnene. 

English is one of the most spoken languages worldwide, and the number of people mastering it, is continually increasing. This extensive development has its roots back to the rise of the British Empire in the 1500th century, which assured the physical spread of the English language to many countries around the world. This was only the beginning of English as global language. Due to the globalisation and the invention of the Internet, the availability and use of English has exploded all over the world and conquered even remote and less developed areas far away from native English speaking countries. The language has spread with such an incredibly speed throughout the last thirty years, and today English is the language of international commerce, politics, science, diplomacy, and the most commonly used language on the Internet.

Everyone speaks English everywhere and for that reason the language has become the lingua franca in many parts of the world, which is a way of referring to communication in English between speakers with different ?rst languages. Today people are no longer learning English to speak with native English speakers but to speak to other non-natives, for instance Danish people speaking English with Dutch people, when travelling, studying or doing business, and it is clear that the language and culture no longer are tied together as they used to be. English is in many situations a great tool for communicating and has in several ways become the quintessence of internationality. It is for instance used as an official language in the European Union and many Commonwealth countries as well as international organizations. Many university educations around the world take place in English even though they are situated in other countries.

As a result of this massive spread there has inevitably been linguistic consequences for English as well as for other languages. They have changed because of the enormous English influence and one could claim that English is homogenising and eventually eliminating the other languages. The development has consequences for the individuality and identity of a country and its culture and each language possesses a variety of features that makes it unique and countries have different ways of communicating.

By talking a certain language people are not only transmitting their own culture, but also exploring and experiencing a distinct one, becoming more cultivated and knowledgeable of what is "outside" their own groups. Having a unique language is something special and characteristic for a country, but the language is not the only way of expressing ones identity. Culture is not only about language, but also tone, body language, appearance and a thousand other factors. These will never be homogenised and having a global language like English is not going to impure and remove the individuality of a country.

First of all is the development an incredibly slow progress, and it will probably take thousands of years before everybody on earth speaks English as their first language. Second of all is the progress very natural. Languages changes. They always have and always will. No one can do anything to prevent the changes from happening and having a global language like English is certainly not a bad thing. It is logistically fantastic, a great tool for communication and like so many other aspects of western culture, it has the potential to bring people together. As the debate goes on about language and the usage of it, English will continue to grow and change with the same force that has always driven the patchworking of language: a natural desire to exchange goods and ideas.