The emergence of English as a Lingua Franca is beneficial for both native and non—native English speakers

【Abstract】English has been widely used throughout the world for trade， transport， industry， sport， diplomacy and technology. As a result， there is a belief that English as a Lingua Franca brings drawbacks too， such as threatening the world by being hegemony over other languages. This essay is going to argue that even though there are drawbacks to the rise of English as a Lingua Franca， its benefits overweigh its drawbacks. There will be altogether two parts in this essay， illustrating the argument from two aspects. The first aspect is the benefits of Lingua Franca， being a facilitator and reducing misunderstanding. The second aspect is the benefits of English being a Lingua Franca， in terms of easy to learn， can be widely used and delivers messages from a powerful country.

【Key words】Lingua Franca； beneficial

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】楊修平（1991.11-），女，陜西西安人，西安翻譯學(xué)院，研究生，研究方向：對(duì)外英語(yǔ)教育。

1. Lingua Franca is a facilitator for both native and non-native speakers

One of the accusations against Lingua Franca is that it threatens the existence of minor languages. Since Lingua Franca is used quite commonly， a person only needs one language to talk to someone else （Crystal， 2003）. Another one is that Lingua Franca may cultivate a so-called elite class. As is the case in Hong Kong， International business is in want of those who can master English very well （Boyle， 1995）. This contributes a great deal to the emergence of elites who is able to manage a Lingua Franca.

However， those drawbacks of Lingua Franca cannot compete with the benefits it provides. The original purpose of Lingua Franca is working as a facilitator to help people to communicate with each other. Lingua Franca is a contact language between persons who share neither a common native tongue nor a common national culture （cited in House 2003：557）. It， as well， works as a ‘common language in communities where many languages co-exist （Crystal， 2003）. For instance， after a plague， the communication in Hong Kong breakdown as the Chinese failed to respond to sanitary directives in English （Boyle， 1995）. This led to the promotion of English since then （Boyle， 1995）.

Also， some hold the hope that the world will be more united and peaceful with one Lingua Franca， because every misunderstanding can be washed away （Crystal， 2003）. Therefore， for both native and non-native speakers， Lingua Franca works as a facilitator and has the potential to guarantee social harmony and mutual understanding.

2. Benefits of English as Lingua Franca

English is the Lingua Franca all over the world：

It is the main language of books， newspapers， airports and air-craft control， international business and academic conferences， science， technology， medicine， diplomacy， sports， international competitions， pop music， and advertising （Crystal 1987： 358， cited in Pennycook 1998： 147）.

Concerns about its domain arise as well. For some， English is the neo-colonialism （Kirk lecture， August）. As Yukio Tsuda （2000） says， English is considered ‘a(chǎn) proprietary commodity of English speaking countries to be marketed across the world （cited in McArthur， 2002：8）.

No clear evidence however， shows that English is threatening other languages in the world. House （2003：570） mentions a project in her article about using English as a medium of instruction in a German university. The result shows that students think using English as a medium helps increase the attractiveness of their mother tongue on both academic and everyday-life level， and there are no signs of English being a threat to a native language， referring as German in this context （House， 2003）.

In addition， it is many English speakers belief that if there should be a Lingua Franca， let the fittest survive； and if English is the fittest， so be it （Crystal， 2003）. English indeed has the characteristic of a Lingua Franca， which is it is easy to learn. First， English has a large vocabulary， which makes its speakers the ablest thinkers （Pennycook， 1998）. Second， English is flexible and likely to borrow words from other languages. That is to say， speakers from the language English borrows may have the feeling that they are somehow connected， because they share something in common. This makes English an easier language to learn than other languages.

Moreover， English has a vast foundation in terms of people who speak it， which means it is already widespread. Due to colonialism， the United Kingdom has made English as an official or semi-official language in over 60 countries （Crystal 1987： 358， cited in Pennycook， 1998）， and also the most important second language in the world （Clairborne 1983：1-2， cited in Pennycook， 1998）. Therefore for both native and non-native speakers， English is well-known and can be widely used.

Furthermore， since the United States is the most powerful country in the world， one of the benefits， for either native or non-native speakers， of English as Lingua Franca is that a lot about America can be learnt from its language. In particular， two-third of the worlds scientists write in English， eight percent of the worlds electronic retrieval systems is stored in English （Crystal 1987： 358， cited in Pennycook， 1998）.

3. Conclusion

No matter for whom， native English speakers or non-native English speakers， the benefits of English as a Lingua Franca outweigh its drawbacks. English as Lingua Franca is not a threat to other languages， and it facilitates both of native and non- native speakers. In addition， it is easier to learn and can be widely used. Also it conveys the message from the worlds mightiest country for all to learn.

As far as it seems now， English as a Lingua Franca has a prominent future， whereas the diminishing of minor languages cannot be ignored. Continuing absorbing new information from other languages， spreading to more places， and influencing more people， English as a Lingua Franca is going to benefits more in the world. Perhaps it can also help minor languages to survive.

References：

[1]Crystal，D..English as a global language[M].Cambridge University Press，2003.

[2]Pennycook， A..English and the discourses of colonialism[J].London & New York：Routledge，1998.

[3]Boyle，J..Hong Kongs educational system：English or Chinese？[J].Language Culture & Curriculum，1995：291-304.

[4]Tsuda，Y.，Critical Studies on the Dominance of English and the Implications for International Communication[J].Japan Review，2000：219-236.

[5]McArthur，T.The Oxford Guide to World Englishes[M].London，UK： Oxford University Press，2002.