Should English be the official language of the world?

Question

I f***ing love English. It's my second language but I was fluent by 12 and in the 13 years since I've completely and totally mastered it. I probably have a vocabulary substantially above the 20,000 words that the typical university graduate knows. I could not imagine a more superior language than English.

It's flexible. Succint. Endlessly beautiful when you reach the classical levels of 18th century English, beautiful without every word ending in a f***ing vowel like in Italian, beautiful without more silent letters than spoken ones or the f***ing throatal inflammation of French or German. It has over a million words and there's a way to say absolutely anything and everything. Have you ever read the unabridged Robinson Crusoe? Frankenstein? The King James Bible? Even Russian or French novels in English translation? I wouldn't be surprised if they were more beautiful in English than in their originals.

It has the simplest grammar. It boggles my mind when I learn the grammar of other languages. It's a trademark of a less evolved, stupidly stubborn language when it retains all the complexities of its beginnings. Masculine, feminine and neutral nouns, declensions changing the spelling and enunciation of a word based on its genetive/dative/accusative/nominative/fuckative place in a sentence, sixty f***ing verb tenses...! Old English had all these problems, and they've been refined out to make the finest, softest grains.

One of the simplest features in English practically doesn't exist in any other language -- the apostrophe. Just think how annoying it would be if you had to say "the pen of Mary," "the tree of David," "the tablet of Bobby." Everything would sound f***ing Biblical.

Its pronunciation is easy. I laugh my a(ss) off when people say Chinese will be the next global language. I mean HELLO, if your language needs a paintbrush to write it's probably time for an upgrade, even most Chinese when they finish university can't write "sneeze" in their hieroglyphs. Not to mention, four different tones for a word? I'd have to have a tongue exercise when I wake up to say "Good morning" in Chinese. Over here in English we can have a stoned Jamaican, a retarded Brazilian and a drunk Russian and they'd all say Good morning and it would mean Good morning every time.

Other languages all sound ridiculous, ghetto, rough, pedestrian or psychopathic. Russian sounds like a guy trying to eat his teeth. Arabic -- hullah wullah mullah sullah! Italian -- aribastinicomobambini! Hebrew -- khhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

For all their ugliness they demand MUCH greater and harder study than English, and not because they're "rich" or "ancient," but merely because they refuse to evolve.

I didn't speak a word of English until I was 7 or 8. It makes me cringe when I see NATIVE SPEAKERS of English assraping their language, through adopting the bastardizations of Ebonics or just sheer dumbfuckery. The differences between your and you're, its and it's, they're, there and their are NOT rocket science!

I consider English to be my native tongue, OUR language, the most beautiful heritage of the global English-speaking community. It's the most diverse language on earth -- only 56% of its lexicon is pure English, and the rest are loanwords -- English opened a window to the air of other languages, but put up an insect screen.

English should be the official language of the world. Why the f*** should we English speakers waste away years of our lives trying to become polyglots, when anyone in the world whether their first language is Swiss German or Swahili would only benefit from learning ours? I'm sick and tired of the stubbornness that survives only because of the open-mindedness of the English-speaking world or people's exercising their God-given right to remain stupid. I'm an immigrant, but I hate immigrants who spend 30 or even 3 years in this country without speaking the language. I hate the Quebecois who wouldn't learn English if their lives depended on it. I hate speakers of foreign languages who think English-speakers are ignorant or arrogant if they don't speak their language -- NO, DUMBASS, THERE ARE SEVEN THOUSAND LANGUAGES IN THE WORLD AND ENGLISH IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERS. Because it's the f***ing best.

Answer 1

Well, it kinda already is. While way too many Americans don't speak or write English that well, rest assured in most countries it is learned as THE second language. I also love our language. She is beautiful and should be treated with the utmost veneration and respect. **sigh**

Answer 2

No, I disagree, and I am not sorry. English is my second language too, and I help translating books and articles from German into English. Thereby I have experienced that English often lacks the words to adequately express what one German word expresses. And I work together with other translators, who totally agree on that. So there is not need to be so arrogant about English, because it is not a superior language at all.

Answer 3

The world should have no official language. Besides. The Magna carta is written in French. So is the Treaty of Versallis. If English were the offical language. Who would learn to read those for future generations. your views while not horrible tend to be incredibly short sighted.

Answer 4

Apparently, you have fallen over for the 'f' word, which seems to be a very important part of your vocabulary. How many of those 20000 words you claim to know are not derivatives of the 'f' word?



As for imposing it on other, why don't you go around and try to do it? I suggest you go to Somalia, introduce yourself as an american, and tell them you want to force everyone to switch to English, starting with them.



For the record, over 42.6% of the Québec population were fluent in both French and English. But you can hate us nevertheless, just never come over here.

Answer 5

English is my second lge too .. but I also master French ,and Arabic , and learning Italian =)

Answer 6

The world does not need an "official language".

Answer 7

The world doesn't need a official language, but it would be helpful if mankind could find common ground to work together, so we don't all kill leash other.

Answer 8

Old English- Anglo Saxon would be cool

Answer 9

No. English is a good language. But it is difficult. All these words (two, to and too for instance) all sound the same, but are totally different I have been speaking English my whole life and still struggle sometimes.

Answer 10

No. Not only would it possibly cause some languages to begin to fade, but certain nationalities (like Japanese people) have a very hard time learning English.

Answer 11

Since I have no talent for learning languages, I would appreciate if this were so.



And you could perhaps learn some manners.