Notion espace et échange rédigée

Hippolyte TESSIER-LONGUESPE TS2                                                      

 NOTION D’ANGLAIS – ESPACES ET ECHANGES

     I’m going to talk about the notion of spaces and exchanges. Firstly, in the world, there is a huge number of different spaces, with an identity, a culture and a history. These spaces are represented geographically by countries or regions, it’s the notion of space. The most part of these societies exchange a lot of things with each other such as goods, cultures, money and technologies, it’s the notion of exchange. We will focus more specifically on cultures and languages in the world. They are unique to each society and they were built with the history of the place in  question. On of the languages is more important in the world : English. Recently, a study showed 2000 languages are endangered. In fact thanks to the colonization and spread of new technologies, English promotes trade between countries. So our question is, what is the impact of English on international relations ?

I- History, spread and power of English

- 449 AD : The Anglosaxon invasion ( Cornish, Welsh, Celtic languages ).

- Influence of French ( language of power ) with William of Normandy ( 1066 ).

- End of the old English = trilingual country, evolution of the language ( Latin, French, English ).

- 12th c to 14th c : resurgence of English ( universities, decline of Latin and French with Hundred years war ) > English is the language of power.

- 1611 ( Renaissance ) : first translation of the Bible in English =  power

- Doc BBC History ( David CRYSTAL ) :  rapid geographical expension of English in the New World during the Elizabethan age > immigrants were from differents countries = the language was modified.

- Industrial revolution : Britain become the leader, and had colonies

- 1922 : creation of BBC ( « BBC English » as a reference )

- Doc 1 ( Davide CRYSTAL ) : English became global = there is not one standard English but there are many « Englishes » ( because countries have adopted it and have made it their own order to have connection to their histories, circumstances and interests ). ( > we can also put this exemple in the II, or as a transition )

II- Impact on the other langages/Language Identity

- Doc International Mother language Day : because of powerful languages, such as English primarily, 2000 minorities languages across the world are endangered.

- Doc International Mother language Day : the idea of « national identity » with the exemple in Bangladesh : the government decided that Oundou would become the state language, but the majority of people spoke Bangla = protestations > « language martyrs » = language identity ( language is a big part of our culture, so Bangladesh is a country with a linguistic identity ).

- Doc 8 : Welsh language = important to the education of children in general to understand their heritage, but this language disappears in favor of English which offers more opportunities ( transition ).

III- Advantages regarding internatinal relations

- Doc Mother languages and identity : 16 langages in Zimbabwe official : English was always the winner > no economic value in speaking or studying other langages = educational and econimic arguments.

- Doc Mother languages and identity : The opportunity to compete with the rest of the world by creating their social, cultural, political, economic and intellectual platforms.

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