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English as a Universal Language by Carlos Carrion Torres - Vitoria ES - Brazil English is without a doubt the actual universal language. It is the world's second largest native language, the official language in 70 countries, and English-speaking countries are responsible for about 40% of world's total GNP. English can be at least understood almost everywhere among scholars and educated people, as it is the world media language, and the language of cinema, TV, pop music and the computer world. All over the planet people know many English words, their pronunciation and meaning. The causes for this universality are very well known and understandable. English first began to spread during the 16th century with British Empire and was strongly reinforced in 20th by USA world domination in economic, political and military aspects and by the huge influence of American movies. The concept of a Universal Language is more significant only now, in the era of world mass communication. Before this era Greek, Latin, French were to some extent universal languages, though mainly in Europe. By a lucky coincidence due to factors above, English, the Universal language, is one of the simplest and easiest natural languages in the world. The only other simple and easy languages are constructed ones. Of course the concept of easiness is relative, and it depends on which language you know already. However the concept of simplicity is undeniable: English in an easy language to learn, understand and speak. A complex language such as Hungarian would be a very unlikely candidate for a universal language. First of all, English Language uses Latin alphabet, the most universal, simple and short one (only the Greek alphabet is shorter and simpler). In addition, in English, the Latin Alphabet presents its most "clean" form as a true alphabet with only 26 basic letters and no diacritics; Verb conjugation is very simple and easy. Even for irregular verbs, there is almost no variation in person (except 3rd singular in present tense). Regular verbs have only four forms: Infinitive + Present, Past Tense + Past Participle, 3rd person singular Present Indicative, Present Participle. There are almost no Inflections. No number or gender inflection for adjectives, articles, adverbs. For adjectives there is only comparative and superlative, almost only number for nouns. In pronouns there are gender and number inflections and only three declension cases (Acc/Dat, Nom, Gen). English is one of the most analytical languages, with no significant synthetic, fusional or agglutinative characteristics. Could be there any other alternative for Universal Language, instead of English? There are other languages that are quite simple and synthetic, with almost no verb conjugation, no declension, such as Asian languages like Thai and Chinese, but they are written with complicated scripts and are tonal languages. However if Chinese were to be written with the Latin alphabet, it could potentially become a univeral language.

There are other strong languages that, due to population and economic power, could be univeral languages, but they have a number of disadvantages when compared with English. Some examples: • Japanese: has very regular verbs but also a very complicated script. • Chinese: no conjugations or declension, but a very complicated script and tones. • German has many more inflections than English. • The major Romance languages, such as French, Spanish and Portuguese, have fewer inflections than most of languages, but their verb conjugation is very complicated. • Russian has both complex verb conjugations and numerous noun declensions. In conclusion, it is lucky for us that our universal language is the simplest and easiest, even though that simplicity and easiness weren't the reasons that lead English to that condition.!

Language is an important tool of understanding and communicating between any members of a community in all fields of life. For the process of communications and understanding to go smoothly, one must know and be aware of signs, symbols and meanings associated with each language, as well as the cultural side behind each symbol and sign. Learning a foreign language especially English can help felicitate an individual and community ways of understanding what is going on and help to integrate and benefit from achievements as well as increase innovation. Although English is regarded as the number one spoken language in the world. ‘one out of every five people on the entire Earth can speak English to some extent’ [englishenglish.com] which means fifth of the world which is not enough as those speakers come from different parts of the world and they come with different background, culture, value and beliefs. The English spoken in the UK is not the same English spoken in USA or Australia." The importance of finding a universal language due to increased movement of people and the availability of different types of communication such as the internet and other means in economic, scientific fields and the expansion of economic transactions between countries and international companies to facilitate communication in meetings between representatives of the companies. The openness of the labor market which is a result of globalization made it easier for people to travel around and look for jobs in all parts of the world which led to the pursuit of employers and major companies to take advantage of this and search for employment that reduces cost and maximizes profits, but, there is a challenge that comes along with it, the world is diverse, people come from different characters, cultures, traditions and languages. Language is not just words that are put together and structured into a sentence; it is awareness of cultures, customs and values. Therefore, the language exchanged in many companies especially international ones has a huge importance, because it means the easy exchange of information and data relating to the job among the staff as well as

instructions issued by the managers, it brings employees closer together if they can understand each other and understand any technical terms that relate to the job." Religion, language and cultures are all factors that need to be taken into considerations when doing business. Each person is shaped by their own culture, where they realize it or now. Our very own opinions, beliefs and actions are dependent on the background we come from. We only realize our differences when we are faced with another culture and a different way of doing things. It is important to understand a culture to be able to communicate so that everything goes smoothly without facing problems." A worker speaking little English might have a hard time communicating and speaking up and feeling frustrated whenever having to speak the language, I personally felt this way when I was in France and just started to learn French. It is the fear of being judged and lack of confidence in knowledge which can lead them to be closed in their personal space or even worse thing would be not understanding what they have to do exactly and doing the job wrong because they were afraid to ask for help." There are different types of language that are not just expressed by words and language the is used differently between females and males and they all affect how people deal with each other in a multicultural business/work environment." Despite the many differences in defining the concept of language, I think it is ok to agree that it is the tongue of a culture; it is the channel where information travels in a nation and from a nation to another." Language is a pulse that interacts with feelings and sensations and affects them. Language is a profound mental logic that gives suggestions and gestures."

Body Language"

Body language is communicating with people without any words spoken that are used in all aspects of dealing with others. Movements by individuals, using their hands, facial expressions, tone of voice and headshaking so that the addressee understands the message better and often used by someone unable to express what they want to say in words and wanting to clarify by making hand movements." Body language is an essential mean of communication with others that is used on daily basis. Non verbal communication is extremely important in every culture, as communication is not always with the use of words. Therefore, understanding body language and using it in a an effective manner , can improve relationships with others and may also help overcome and deal with different situations which one can be exposed to when doing business. Problems can occur from the misunderstanding of hand gestures or any other type of physical signals, because they can mean one thing in on culture and have a completely different meaning in another." You can change your body language in the workplace and the way you are looked at work, what your non-verbal communication and body language sends different messages to people you work with in an intercultural environment depending on where they come from. Despite the fact that smiling is a form of welcome in many cultures, it can be viewed as a form of embarrassment in some Asian cultures. Working with different nationalities and understanding body language is a value to the employees. In certain places the right body language can help others see your openness, flexibility and honesty. Especially in American cultures as they are all about business and getting things right therefore, sitting upright in a chair during a meeting says that you are open and alert. But it can change completely once you put your hands behind you head or cross arms in front of chest, suddenly you are expressing boredom and superiority and puts you in a defensive position. Clenching fists that is related to anxiety or tension, scratching nose, forming a bridge with hands, reflects on lack of interest can probably make the

people around you feel uncomfortable. Maintaining eye contact translate into honesty, but it is ok to look away at times as it can be seen as starring or being intense or in some Asian culture it can be looked as threatening." Respecting personal space of others is a good way to express body language in a workplace. Personal space varies to individuals from different races. (ad example for the British here) Determining the appropriate body language in a workplace in relation to touching might be a bit sensitive. A firm handshake is welcoming but touching someone on the arm, tapping on the back maybe not be. Some find it normal and some others maybe feel uncomfortable with it." In India the constant shaking of the head from side to side can be misunderstood as a non verbal way of saying no but is the contrary as it is a way to show that they understand what you are saying or a sign of agreement. Where in America shaking your head is a sign of disagreeing and saying “no” while people from some countries raise their chins. British people are said to be more reserved and formal. Americans are considered more open and outgoing, while Australians are seen as casual and relaxed."

Gender language" Different interests and tendencies between the two genders might be a reason why they speak differently. Even though woman and men live in the same environment or have the same education and lever of profession growing up there were things that were acceptable for boys to do or say and were considered to be inappropriate for girls which is maybe a reason why they communicate differently." A man has his own way of expression, he uses words that correspond with the meaning of what he wants to say exactly and briefly using specific terms that he really means while maintaining sequence. A woman may speak with simpler words and phrases. Even though they speak the same language, they do not talk in similar context. Men glorify power, efficiency and

achievement. They do things to prove themselves, develop skills and strengths they have, define themselves by their ability to achieve results. Giving advice to a man without him asking for it might make him feel like he does not know what he is doing. Woman are quite the contrary, they appreciate communication, beauty and relationships. Their ideas of themselves are determined b their feelings and quality of the relationships, they feel fulfilled by participation, communicating and staying in touch. Which can maybe lead to woman getting more jobs in the service sector as they involve being chatty, social and having to face and deal with customers." The different way of seeing things in a professional environment can lead to major miscommunication between the two genders. “men and women approach communication with different interpretive frames. Where one may expect direct explicit statement, the other maybe expecting indirect expression. Not meaning men are direct and women are indirect when one expects directness and the other uses indirectness wrong interpretations and miscommunications will be the result." In a work environment if a boss who is male asks a worker who is female to finish a report he might be very direct and straight to the point while if it was a female boss she might choose her words more carefully and try not to be very pressuring if the job she asked for is not urgent."

Paralanguage" Sigmund Freud said “He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.”" The definition of paralanguage is non verbal means of communication such as one of voice, laughter and sometimes gestures and facial expressions that accompany speech and convey meaning. Silence can also be considered as a type of paralanguage, even when we say nothing we mean something.

For example, when a teacher decides to stop speaking during a lecture because of the noise in the room waiting for the students to become conscious of the silence and start paying attention." In intercultural communication, paralanguage can be a bit puzzling. For example, Europeans interpret the loudness of Americans to aggressive behavior, while Americans might think the British are secretive because they talk quietly. Talking speed and the amount of silence in conversations also differ among cultures. The Japanese are comfortable having several pauses in their conversations, while Americans and many Arabic people are uncomfortable with any silence. Knowing this can help the work flow in a company go well without having workers and staff being offended and tense because you cannot change people and how they act you just have to adapt to the environment and accept change." Learning and understanding the language used between the staff and administration is very important as it reflects the strength and depth of the relationship between the administration and the teams that belong to it. Which can be shaken or changed by the interpretation or misinterpretation of that language, especially when the administrations exercises its power on employees." Knowing the meanings of words and sentences without knowing the meaning and cultural contextual use of each word is incomplete knowledge and the allegation that the foreign language learner does not need to know the cultural aspects contrasts with many goals of learning a foreign language.$

Why Has English Become a Universal Language? 23 August, 2018 Languages Luna Campos

According to statistics shared by Babbel Magazine, the English language is spoken by 20% of the world’s population. Apart from being one of the most popular languages in the world, English is also the most commonly studied foreign language. Before we learn how it became

a universal language, let’s explore a little about the history of English language. The origin of English dates back to the 5th century, however, the English language today is very different from how it was spoken then. Modern English, as we know it today, is a combination of many foreign words that have been included in the English dictionary. HOW DID ENGLISH BECOME THE WORLD’S MOST WIDELY SPOKEN LANGUAGE? Owing to the size of the English-speaking population and its usage in our daily life, English language came to be known as the lingua franca. For you to understand the importance of the English language as a universal phenomenon, we have put together a list of factors that contributed to its popularity. - HOLLYWOODING AWAY! The prevalence movies in English has played an important role in making English a universal language. Hollywood movies have the largest audience in the world. Hollywood movies are often dubbed into regional languages for people to watch, however, we cannot overlook the large number of viewers of English movies. Many foreign actors – including famous martial artist and actor from Hong Kong Jackie Chan and Spanish actress Penélope Cruz – have learnt the English language while being part of the Hollywood circle. - BUSINESS AND ENGLISH ARE PARTNERS IN CRIME The world is taking globalisation seriously, and having a common language only makes business easier. With top-

notch corporations establishing their presence in different countries, communication becomes vital. It makes the information flow easier and gives people a common ground. There’s nothing better than the English language to do that! In fact, its extensive usage in international business has led to the term “Business English” being coined. - TALK AND SING IN ENGLISH! English songs have influenced the music world for a long time now. If you want to make it in the international music sphere, you must know English. "English music has a larger audience, as well as providing a better platform and amazing songs. Everyone must have heard an English song at least once in their lives. This gives the English language precedence over other languages when it comes to global acceptance. - BOOKS, BOOKS! According to the Washington Post, the most preferred language for written publications is English. There are many books written in regional languages too, however, more often than not, they are translated to English at some point. What does this tell you? The English language is not only widely spoken, but also widely read. - SIMPLICITY IS BLISS There might be a difference of opinion on this one, but it is relatively easy to learn English in comparison to other languages. One of the main reasons behind this is that the English language has a comparatively simple grammar, as it has simpler plurals, a more straightforward verb

conjugation, it is mostly gender-neutral, as well as other factors. The English vocabulary is also easy to pick up. This adds to its worldwide popularity. Spoken English classes are a quick and easy way to help you learn English! - ENGLISH IS THE JACK OF ALL TRADES! English is the language of science, mathematics, technology, tourism, finance, business, and countless other areas. Each of these trades use English as a common language to communicate for the industry to prosper internationally. If you learn English, it will be beneficial to you in terms of job prospects in a multinational firm. It will also give you an advantage over your peers and allow you to interact with them. - VERSATILITY IS KEY The English language is one of the most versatile languages in the world, thanks to its vast vocabulary. Flexibility is key; there are different ways of saying the same thing. Owing to the size of its vocabulary, English words are classified into categories: there’s formal English, informal English, conversational English, and slang! - THE INTERNET WINS! According to Internet World Stats, English is the most used language on the internet - most of the content produced on the internet is in the English language. Statistics shared by The English Language Centre show that a whopping 52% of the world’s most browsed websites are displayed in the English language. - ENGLISH IS A FUNNY LANGUAGE

English is funny and interesting. The flexibility and ease of learning that this language offers makes it a rather interesting subject of study. You can even find online tutorials about “How to Speak English”. With such a huge vocabulary, each day you can learn new words. - IT’S OFFICIAL! English is an official language...