The spread of English

The cross-cultural spread of English is unprecedented in other ways. It is used than any of the other colonial languages like French, Portuguese or Spanish. It even has a use than some of the languages associated with international non-Western religious traditions, like Arabic or Sanskrit. In countries like India and Nigeria, English is used in local English-language newspapers and broadcasting, in public administration, in university education, in major industries, the courts and the civil service. Indeed, with nearly 200 languages, India needs English to unify the country.

Professor Lal, a champion of Indian English, who runs a well-known writers’ workshop, claims that in simple numerical terms, in a country of 840 million, Indians need to speak English to communicate with each other....You know what Malcolm Muggeridge said: “The last Englishman left will be an Indian.”

The Secret of Success in the US.

If you wonder why Robbie Williams and Oasis have not found success in the US, just look at their teeth. Determined not to make the same mistake, the ex – Boyzone singer now–gone–solo Ronan Keating has gotten his crooked front teeth capped in order to have a perfect smile to woo American audiences. Americans approve of artists with a perfect set of teeth such as Britney Spears, and they think that bad teeth make performers less attractive – thus making consumers less prone to buy their CDs.

GLOSSARY:

crooked – assimétrico

to woo – conquistar

prone – propenso.

The Young Can’t Wait

When you are little, it’s not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. “Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this world would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words.”

The spread of English

The cross-cultural spread of English is unprecedented in other ways. It is used than any of the other colonial languages like French, Portuguese or Spanish. It even has a use than some of the languages associated with international non-Western religious traditions, like Arabic or Sanskrit. In countries like India and Nigeria, English is used in local English-language newspapers and broadcasting, in public administration, in university education, in major industries, the courts and the civil service. Indeed, with nearly 200 languages, India needs English to unify the country.

Professor Lal, a champion of Indian English, who runs a well-known writers’ workshop, claims that in simple numerical terms, in a country of 840 million, Indians need to speak English to communicate with each other....You know what Malcolm Muggeridge said: “The last Englishman left will be an Indian.”