Impact of globalization on higher education

Abstract

The status of English as a world language and its potential impact on other languages is a fundamental subject in the linguistic ecology of the Internet. According to Krauss (1992), 90 percent of human languages will vanish or be severely weakened in the next century. English is becoming more widely used, particularly as a second language and as a lingua franca—a common language of communication among speakers of many languages. The use of English in other countries is not compelled by legislation or military strength; rather, the United States has a popular culture that is consumed and mimicked by other countries, aiding the spread of English. Kachru (1996) stated that there is no single English language, but rather a variety of Englishes that have arisen throughout former British and American colonies, despite the fact that none of these variants has been officially acknowledged. As a result, while English is becoming more widely used, it has also being co-opted and domesticated in some circumstances.