Dominant Languages

I just read a very interesting article on learning 'dominant languages.'

The author talks about two distinctly different definitions of 'dominant languages' but the one which interested me was the linguists definition - languages that demand learners speak them perfectly. He mentions that French and Thai fit that definition and that English and Italian most definitely do not.

It fascinates me that people consider English a hard language to learn. Not that I disagree, but I always like to qualify that with 'hard to learn to a high degree' and yet 'easy to speak badly.' Having grown up in New York, I've heard all manner of bad English spoken by foreigners over the years and my ears are attuned to it. This is what the author means when he says that English is not a dominant language (by this definition) - it doesn't demand much perfection from the learner.

The opposite is French, which demands that people make a real effort to speak French properly and with a correct accent. But is it the language that demands this or the culture behind it? The French have always struggled to define themselves as separate and distinct from everyone else and refuse to allow anyone else to define them.

British and American culture is quite different, much more fluid, changing with different influences over the centuries. And I believe this is reflected in the English language native to those countries.

The culture that defines the language sets the standards for it. The cultures that define the English language require it to be ever-changing and adaptable. And this is what puts English at the top of the heap under the other definition of 'dominant language,' that of the sociologist - a language that supersedes others or drives them to extinction. And that is an apt description of English today.

Read this interesting article at http://brooklynmonk.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/the-trials-of-learning-a-dominant-language/