Julianti 1

Jessica Julianti
Caroline Yokubaitis
Pre-University Writing
20 September 2014
The Future of English
There are people who believed that English should be removed. Others think otherwise,
where English should become a global language. According to Breton, in his article Can
English be Dethroned? he believed that the world might not be able to catch up if it is
dominated by just one language. However, Graddol claimed, in Schmids article English Seen
as Co-Star among Global Languages English is likely to become a global language in the near
future.
Breton, in his article, believed that due to the globalization of the economy, people are
being encouraged to learn English. This can be seen as a positive development where people can
interact with each other and cultural exchange becomes easier. In addition, at that time, the
advancement of English did not aim to exterminate local languages. A person makes a mark
through his or her ability to use the most useful language or languages, Breton continued, over
several generations, the most useful languages will eliminate the others (30)
Another reason, Breton implies, is that language war even though cannot be regarded
as a war, might actually kill a language which, the winner is the most useful language. Major
languages would surely make headway in international institutions, added Breton (30).
However, on the other hand, Schmid believed that English is likely to become the number one
language that will be used in the future to communicate globally.

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People, in order to communicate with someone from different country, have to use
English as the middleman. As there are an increasing number of multilingual speakers in the
world, there are also a decreasing number of native English speaker. In most of the world
multilingualism is the normal condition of people, said Stephen Anderson in Schmids article
(37). English has become the dominant language of science, with an estimated 80 percent to 90
percent of papers in scientific journals written in English added Scott Montgomery (qtd in
Schmid 38)
In conclusion, there are people who want to dethrone English and some who want
English to become a global language. While both choice are valid, the future cannot be predicted
accurately. What will happen in the future, people will have to be ready for the unpredictable
outcome.

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Works Cited
Breton, Ronald J.-L. Can English Be Dethroned? Readers Choice. Ed. Sandra Silberstein,
Barbara K. Dobson, Mark A. Clarke. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press,
2008. 29-30. Print
Schmid, Randolph E. English Seen as Co-Star among Global languages Readers Choice. Ed.
Sandra Silberstein, Barbara K. Dobson, Mark A. Clarke. Ann Arbor: The University of
Michigan Press, 2008. 37-38. Print