Ive just read an article by Patrick Plonski, et al, on Why Are More African Countries Adopting English as an Official Language? Very significant for what we are trying to accomplish with Union University of California. 26 nations in Africa list English as an official language, including several where French was the long-standing language (Rwanda, Burundi, Gabon) and now South Sudan. One quotation: English has become the second language of everybody. Its gotten to the point where almost in any part of the world, to be educated means to know English. It is projected that by 2050, nearly half of the world will be proficient in English. English is the global language of business and the primary language of academia, and the internet (82% of all traffic) is a main conveyer of the language. Currently only 9% of the global population speaks English and almost 1/3 speak English as a second language. If you are English speaking, be thankful for the special privileges that it gives you. People ask me about my teaching worldwide. In the Philippines I teach to students from a dozen countries but in English. In Pakistan, I teach in English, but am translated to Urdu for a minority who have little experience listening to English (they read and write it). In China, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, I teach in English without translation. In Africa, I have taught or preached in English in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa without translation. In Senegal, a former French colony, all of my students spoke English. The only exception is in Latin America where I teach in Spanish and Portuguese because many students only study in those languages. The worlds most spoken languages are the following in this sequence: 1. Chinese (Mandarin) 2. English 3. Hindustani 4. Spanish 5. Russian 6. Arabic 7. Bengali 8. Portuguese 9. Malay-Indonesian 10. French One observation is that in two decades, French may not be spoken in Africa at all.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 04:00:38 +0000
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