Can English Survive the New Technologies?

The English Company (1997). The future of English. British Council, English  

Computers, a significant tool of the future, have always befriended the English language.  Much of their programs, hardware and software were created by and catered to people in English speaking countries.  Those who spoke other languages were at a disadvantage if they used accented characters or utilized non Latin writing systems, both in creating and communicating information, and also in reading instructions or programming their computers.  However, much of these early problems have now been overcome and interface design as well as many software programs are now geared toward many other languages that once seemed overlooked by computer programmers.  This adaptation and greater availability of technology to other languages therefore no longer provides a key advantage for those of the English language. 

The Internet is another growing technological tool that has also been seeded in the English language.  In fact, the article states that "English is the medium for 80% of the information stored in the world's computers".  The Internet carries information into almost ever country in the world and this information comes mainly in the English language, however this may or may not be the case in the future.  The present reason for this could be that the majority of computers with Internet access are actually based in English speaking countries.  So users not located in these areas find that they must use English if they want to communicate in cyberspace.  However, it is not surprising then that the Internet's use is growing most rapidly in non-English speaking countries, and as it reaches more people with a greater variety of demographics, so will it soon represent these other cultures and languages to a greater degree. 

The Internet Society found that many languages are being used for home pages and this trend will continue.  It will be further enhanced because language preference information can be transmitted by web browsers.  So if "a page is available in that language it will be automatically retrieved in preference to one in English".  The implication this has for the future is that the Web will appear in different languages for those native speakers as long as hosts have provided pages in those languages.  What is also being developed is software for automatic language translation and this will be provided by the Internet or the computer of the user.  This will allow users to access sites worldwide and have them converted into their native language.  Such advances will lessen the need to learn English by the average Internet user. 

Satellite TV has also been another contributing technology to the globalization of English.  In the past, such networks as MTV and Star TV have been given much credit for the spread of English using it to reach the largest audiences worldwide.  But as the development of satellite operators progresses, such networks and advertising companies will need to reach into individual countries that do not speak English in order to increase their audiences. This means in the future, more major languages will be used and offered in programming by providers. 

So what is the future for English?  As you can see, with some technological developments, it seems English may play less of a role in times to come.  However, at the same time, the demand for English will be increasing in other ways because technological change constantly effects work practices and increasing amounts of people will need a greater understanding of the language. Technology has expanded the use of English through educational means.  Students are now able to attend schools electronically allowing many students to avoid physically coming to English speaking schools, but requiring them to communicate and study through English. 

This article portrays how English, as deeply entrenched as a world language as it is, will have changing roles in the future.  Technology plays a great part in its dominance and downfall as the global language and there are many implications for the English language in the future.  This article was extremely interesting in illustrating points and consequences about our native language that we may not have thought of before and how its importance in the world may change in times to come.

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