LANGUAGE
English’s Rise to Power
The rise of English as a global language was not by chance. Military prowess and power boosted English to the top.
The journey of English becoming the international language as we know it has not been an easy road. It has long been established that the spread of a language is related to political, diplomatic, economic, and military power, and English is no exception.
The spread and establishment of English as a global language is linked to a string of events led by war, colonization, and economic power. From the Germanic peoples to Americans, when you observe a strong English presence in a country, a military power is never far behind.
Early English emergence took place in the 5th century during the migration of Germanic peoples from mainland Europe, when they conquered the British Isles.³ This group was the great military power of the time, and upon arrival to Britain, split into three regional groups: Burgundian, Vandal, and Gothic.³ This invasion led to the development of “Old English,” and soon after, “Middle English,” which are the direct precursors of the “Late Modern English” that we speak today.
Another notorious example of military power influencing language is the colonization of the Americas and English becoming the primary language in the United States and Canada. During the initial colonization, English was not the shoo-in, as French, Dutch, and Spanish were also present. It is likely that the strong military powers of England, especially naval dominance, and strategically-placed settlements gave English a leg up. This series of events has ongoing effects due to the development of one of the strongest armed forces the world has ever seen: the United States Military.
The establishment of English as a primary language can be easily and clearly linked to countries with influence. However, word-borrowing is slightly harder to track. There was much backlash against integrating any “slang American English” into the proper British vernacular, but WWI had different plans.¹
While in the Allied trenches, it was impossible to stop the absorption of some American slang. New words, such as “bombarded,” “shell-shocked,” “over-the-top,” and “no-man’s land” were created in the throes of the trenches.¹ WWI jump-started what had already begun: a transfer of world power to the USA.
WWII only made this transition more apparent, and the borrowing of a larger number of words from the cursed American slang came with it. Furthermore, WWII saw the introduction of “crew-cut,” “gizmo,” and “pin-up.”¹
More recently, there has been an effort to slow this spreading of borrowed words, most notably in France.¹ However, this phenomenon continues to be welcomed by other countries. These countries use a combination of borrowed grammar and vernacular from English, and combine it with the languages already present to create a unique dialect.
English has a history in Singapore as early as the 1800s. When they gained independence from Britain in the 1950s, English was made the official language of business, government, and education.¹ However, English and the other three official languages of Singapore (Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil) bleed into one another during informal conversation, creating a colorful dialect unique to the country.²
Colloquial Singapore English (CSE), or “Singlish,” and Standard Singapore English (SSE) are the two most prominent dialects spoken there, with SSE being used in highly formal situations and Singlish being used elsewhere.² SSE does not differ grammatically from other forms of standard English in the world; however, Singlish uses some differing grammatical structures such as topic-prominence, which is borrowed from Chinese and Malay.²
At first glance, English is a stagnant language that continues to use the vernacular Shakespeare set into motion 500 years ago. However, upon more stringent investigation, it is evident that the evolution began as far back as Roman and Germanic times and has not slowed. English underwent an incredible transformation into the classical Shakespearean English, and now continues its transformation in a new geography that can be tracked to military power and colonization, such as in Singapore and India.
This is just the beginning of this phenomenon. English is likely to diverge into many diverse dialects and merge with the previous language of the region. It is extremely possible that, in another 500 years, English will again be unrecognizable to its current speakers.
Sources:
[1] Bragg, M. (Narrator). (2003). Many Tongues Called English [Online video]. London Weekend Television.
[2] Leimgruber, Jakob. (2011). Singapore English. Language and Linguistics Compass. 5. 47–62.10.1111/j.1749–818X.2010.00262.x.
[3] Potter, S., & Crystal, D. (2020, October 20). English language. In Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language
