P Kharel

Although the English language reigned as a second language in vast sections of the population in many nations since long, erosion in its international clout stares at the future. Some European countries have begun dismissing it as “on way out”. In other words, the satisfaction the English folks had over their language being spoken in the vast expanse of Planet Earth might not last on the existing scale in the second half of this century.
The next three decades should make the trend clearer. In panic preparation, the United Kingdom might begin investing more on English language classes and test preparations for foreign nationals and in other countries. It could persuade other English speaking countries like the Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States to redouble their efforts for stemming the prospect of their language holding less importance in the international arena. Stalwarts in the European Union have begun minimising the English language, which along with French and German, is listed as the European Union’s language for official transactions. This happened last month, though it was something lingering just below the surface for some years.

Diminishing importance
Four years ago, former European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker touched upon the “losing importance” of the English language - at least in Europe. He said: “English is not the only official language of the European Union. French is a big, great, influential language and culture in the European Union, and we should not forget that we are not under the rule of the only lingua franca, which is English.” French is being preferred in some of the central European states when addressing international meetings. France and Germany can be expected to take extra initiatives in encouraging the practice to create a pattern of edging out the English language from official business transactions. Brexit seems to have rankled the remaining major EU powerhouses.
French President Emmanuel Macron, known for his tough stance on EU’s accelerated pace of negotiation and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is proactively keen on promoting French as the leading language of the grouping’s official businesses. Praising French as a “language of freedom”, he said: “English has probably never been as present in Brussels at the time when we are talking about Brexit. “This domination is not inevitable. It’s up to us to set some rules, to be present, and make French the language with which one has access to a number of opportunities.”
Macron’s plan for rushing the EU to drop English once Brexit formally occurs, however, suffered a setback when Eric Mamer, EU’s chief spokesperson, clarified that the grouping would continue the use of English in the post-Brexit times. If a Western cultural centre like France is so keen to do away with the use of English, what might be the sentiments in other parts of the world where that very language has come to have strong dominance since so long? European colonial exploitation might have virtually ended five decades ago but the former colonial powers take pride in their sense of their languages ruling many countries.
The cultural value of a language represents works of art, culture and other innovations evolved through the times. Political leaders relish pontificating the lofty ideals of no biases against any individual or community on the basis of, among other things, language. But the language issue is accorded great emphasis by the major powers that list themselves as high grade democracies. For that matter, the Five Eyes grouping, fostered as an alliance against the next No. 1 economic superpower China, comprises Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The single-most factor binding them is the English language.
Even as the grouping asserts that “English is increasingly the global language of commerce”, a rethink on the part of peoples across the globe cannot be ruled out. For that matter, English, Spanish and French are spoken as a major national language in many countries that in the past were colonised. The situation underscores to what extent the former powers resorted to invasions, armed raids, mass killings, economic exploitation, indoctrination, discrimination, enforced religious conversion and reduced to the status of the local people “subjects”, that is, inferior to the citizens of the “mother country”.
China might find talk of the English losing the intensity of its use as an international lingua franca as a welcome sign. Money power and fire power played the prime role in “modern” colonial expansion. Today, when colonial empires no longer prevail, numerous schools, colleges and coaching institutes in developing countries bear English-sounding names. The colonial masters imposed and ensured the domination of their language at the cost of local languages and lingua franca.

Defining trend
Even in countries where English is not the native language or the national language for official transactions, TV talk shows, stage programmes and cine-fares carry English words for their mast. Essays and commentaries composed in local languages and printed in the news media increasingly borrow English vocabularies for their headings, apparently for their perception of effect. Such practice is rare in mainstream Europe. That’s the trend, say cultural specialists who like to sound and ape their English-speaking icons, in deference to their notion of “world trend” and of “inevitable” turn of tide.
Amid increased economic inequalities, overstretching the interpretations of identity politics creates baffling conditions, with unpredictable ramifications. Disparities engender disgruntlement that risk provoking regrettable reactions. At the international level, too, conscious efforts at strategies designed to retain the domination of a select few languages might someday face strong resentment. What might be in vogue today could very well be discounted and disregarded under changing conditions.
In the course of the times, changes are to be expected anywhere. The long and overwhelming domination of the English language could suffer a big dent before the end of the century. Economic power, supplemented and complemented by military power, generally paves way for governments, business communities and the elite to have their way in many respects. The English language’s existing worldwide reach was an outcome of such prowess. Existing roles in the world are going to change in the not too distant future, what with the most-populous country, China, with a population of nearly twice the size of the entire continental Europe and the United States combined, emerging as a military superpower and the No. 1 economic superpower within eight years.

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)