Importance of Language:

Definition of language:

Language is defined in different ways according to the different authors.

According to Edward Sapir:

          "Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols."

According to Robin:

         

Another linguist, Robins defined language in the following way:

          "Language is a symbol system based on pure or arbitrary conventions infinitely extendable and modifiable according to the changing needs and conditions of the speakers."

According to Henry Sweet:

Language is defined by Henry Sweet, a phonetician and language scholar in the following way:

          "Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into thoughts."

According to Britannica Encyclopedia:

          "Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals such as voice, sounds, gestures or written symbols."

Origin of word Language:

The word language is taken from the Latin word "lingua", which means "tongue" as the tongue is the metaphor based on the use of physical organ in speech.

What is lingua franca?

Lingua Franca can be defined as a language used for communication among people of different mother tongues or we can say that a world language used as a common language by speakers of different languages.

          Synonyms for lingua franca are "vehicular language" and "bridge language". Whereas a vernacular language is used as a native language in a single speaker community, a vehicular language goes beyond the boundaries of its original community, and is used as a second language for communication between communities. For example, Spanish is a vernacular in Spain, but is used as a vehicular language (that is, a lingua franca) in the Philippines.

          English is the current lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation. It has replaced French as the lingua franca of diplomacy since World War II.

Lingua franca at different times:

Aramaic is the first example of a lingua franca - a common second language, shared by people who are unable to communicate in their native tongues. Such languages, essential in the history of communication, are usually a by-product of empire.

          Aramaic, used in the Persian empire, is gradually displaced by Greek in the vast area conquered by Alexander the Great. (Even so, three centuries after Alexander, Aramaic is still the everyday language of Palestine, spoken by Jesus Christ and his disciples). Latin becomes the lingua franca of most of Europe during the Roman empire, and strengthens its hold in the Middle Ages through the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church.
          In more modern times French is the western world's first lingua franca, owing to the prestige of France in the age of Louis XIV. During the 20th century its position is gradually usurped by English, as a result of the global spread of the British empire and the commercial dominance of the United States.

How can a language be important?

For the linguist Edward Sapir, language is not only a vehicle for the expression of thoughts, perceptions, sentiments, and values characteristic of a community; it also represents a fundamental expression of social identity.

Sapir said:   

"the mere fact of a common speech serves as a peculiar potent symbol of the social solidarity of those who speak the language." In short, language retention helps maintain feelings of cultural kinship.

Language is important because the people who speaks it are important because there is a relation between a language and the people who speak it and both of language and people speaking cannot be thought apart. Language is important because it is directly linked politically, economically, commercially, socially and culturally to its speakers.

          Sometimes the cultural importance of a nation has at some former time been so great that their languages remains important among cultivated people long after it has ceased to represent political, commercial, or other greatness. For example Greek is studies in its classical form because of the great civilization which its literature preserves the most complete record of; but in its modern form as spoken in Greece today the Greek Language is largely neglected by the outside world.  

Importance of English Language:

          English is the current Lingua Franca of the international business, science and technology after it has taken the place of French as the lingua franca of diplomacy since World War II. As we know that we are living in the world of globalization. English language is a common language and is spoken in many countries. It is considered as universal language. Most of the universities worldwide include English as one of their major subject. It is spoken as the first language by more than 340 million people in the United Kingdom, the United States and the former British Empire. Following are some important points which will show us the importance of this language:

Language of the world power and world bodies:

          English is the language of the world powers like United States and United Kingdom as most of the policies of the world are made by these leading world bodies.

Today the USA's influence on world information is dominant, English, being their native tongue, the same is true for Britain and due to the political influence of these countries English has become so much important.

           English is the mother tongue of nations whose combined political influence, economic soundness, commercial activity, social well being and scientific and cultural contributions to civilization give impressive support to its numerical precedence.

Language of the UNO:

English is important as it is one of the five languages recognized by the UNO. The five recognized languages by UNO are English, French, German, Chinese, Arabic.

Language of science and technology:
 

We can say that the English is the language of Science and Technology as most of the inventions relating science and technology are in English and if we notice then we will find our that the most of the books relating science and technology are in English and most of the researches regarding science and technology are also in English and as we know that the most of the names of the latest inventions in technologies are in English as it contains latest scientific and technological material.

Language of Trade and Commerce:

We can say English as the language of trade and commerce as it is an international language and it is used as a second language for dealing in the field of trade and commerce in different countries as it is the mean of the communication between the two countries through which they interact with each other.

Language of great culture:

Language is of course an integral part of a culture. English is the language of a great culture as we move around the world we will see that the English people are more civilized and they have a strong cultural background. English is the first language of the world diplomats that is also a reason that it is rich in culture as the standards of the living of these societies are high.

English is a living language:

English is a living language because when a language ceases to change, we call it a dead language. English language is a living language as it keeps on changing as we can take the example of a the vowel sounds the old English "stan" has become our "stone" now. We can also see the addition of the new words in English language as we have a word "Googled" which is taken from the name of search engine "Google".

English having a large number of speakers:

About one-and-a-half billion (1,500,000,000) people spoke English at the start of the 21st century. That was one quarter (¼) of all people on earth. More than 400 million (400,000,000) speak English as their first language. The rest speak English as a second or third language for their professional and personal lives.

Language of great literature:

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was born in Poland, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, V.S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad, Vladimir Nabokov was Russian. In other words, English literature is as diverse as the varieties and dialects of English spoken around the world. Despite the variety of authors of English literature, the works of William Shakespeare remain paramount throughout the English-speaking world. English is rich in literature as most of the literature from different languages is also translated into English.

Official Language:

English is important as it is used as the official language in many of the countries. It is an official language in 52 countries as well as many small colonies and territories.

Conclusion:

          We concluded from this that English as a lingua franca has a great importance in the global world and it is an international language and a lot of work relating business, science, technology is done in this language and this language is used as a medium of exchange between the people from different parts of the world and a number of people spoke English either as their first language or second or third language.