Why did English become a universal language and when?

Question

As we all know, English is the universal communication medium. Now we know how powerful it is to convey our thoughts. When did it become a common language? Why did they opt for this language?

Answer 1

English became the lingua franca around WWII, but it was already used all through the British Colonial Empire, establishing it in North America and Australia among others. here is a citation of Wikipedia:

It[English] has replaced French as the lingua franca of diplomacy since World War II. The rise of English in diplomacy began in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I, when the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as in French, the dominant language used in diplomacy until that time. The widespread use of English was further advanced by the prominent international role played by English-speaking nations (the United States and the Commonwealth of Nations) in the aftermath of World War II, particularly in the establishment and organization of the United Nations.
[...]
When the United Kingdom became a colonial power, English served as the lingua franca of the colonies of the British Empire. In the post-colonial period, some of the newly created nations which had multiple indigenous languages opted to continue using English as the lingua franca to avoid the political difficulties inherent in promoting any one indigenous language above the others. The British Empire established the use of English in regions around the world such as North America, India, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, so that by the late 19th century its reach was truly global, and in the latter half of the 20th century, widespread international use of English was much reinforced by the global economic, financial, scientific, military, and cultural pre-eminence of the English-speaking countries and especially the U.S. Today, more than half of all scientific journals are published in English, while in France, almost one third of all natural science research appears in English, lending some support to English being the lingua franca of science and technology. English is also the lingua franca of international Air Traffic Control communications.

Answer 2

This is a difficult question to answer because so many of the terms are vague. Even the term "English" is mutable, as there are many dialects and variants used regionally which are quite distinct from one another, with their own grammatical quirks and entirely unique vocabularies.

However, I would say that it was England's massive colonial expansion and the post-colonial retention of English for trade and negotiation that are mostly responsible for it's prevalence - in turn caused by England's naval superiority for many centuries. The aggressively prolific production of English-language media in the early- to mid-twentieth century (Hollywood et al) resulted in prolonged global exposure, and a significant proportion of research and diplomacy was already taking place in English. Nobody can say exactly when its usage gained "critical mass," but I would agree that it was somewhere in the early 20th century.

There are many other universal-communication languages in use (a notable drive in S E Asia to promote "Mandarin" Chinese as a lingua franca is underway) but as you say, none of them so prevalent as English.

Answer 3

The BBC News magazine has an article on "How English evolved into a global language"

As the British Library charts the evolution of English in a new major exhibition, author Michael Rosen gives a brief history of a language that has grown to world domination with phrases such as "cool" and "go to it".

It refers to a free exhibition at the British Library: "Evolving English - One Language, Many Voices"

Answer 4

I agree with the other answers which emphasize: a) the British empire, and b) the dominance of the US in business/science in the post-WWII era. I might also add that its simple alphabet (non-calligraphic, no accents, etc) was very useful in the early computer era when coding and printers were simple.

On a biased note, it's my impression that English is more dynamic than many languages (quick to adopt foreign words and to coin phrases), and while it has a lot of irregular verbs it has also undergone trade-language-like simplifications, such as the dropping of noun gender and less inflection. I've been told that english has more synonyms than some languages, which also makes rhyming easy. Last, perhaps the US's history of immigration also helped spread exposure.

Answer 5

Not really related, but I couldn't resist:

It's not that they're wicked or naturally bad
It's knowing they're foreign that makes them so mad
The English are all that a nation should be
And the pride of the English are Donald and me

The English the English the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

Full lyrics here.

EDIT On a slightly more serious vote (erm, freudian slip, I meant note!), I think that apart from the geopolitical aspect, another element in the success of English is its flexibility and openness to evolution.

If you contrast with a protectionist language like French that has a 'magisterium' which has to decide on all things new (l'Académie Française), there is much less liberty to improvise or adapt. In English, it's often been a case of 'If you can't beat them, join them', and we liberally import any new and useful words we come across.

So in one sense, English hasn't so much beaten other languages as absorbed them.

Answer 6

English may now be the world's lingua franca, but according to a review of Nicholas Ostler's latest book in The Economist the future looks quite different:

English is expanding as a lingua-franca but not as a mother tongue. More than 1 billion people speak English worldwide but only about 330m of them as a first language, and this population is not spreading. The future of English is in the hands of countries outside the core Anglophone group. Will they always learn English?

Mr Ostler suggests that two new factors—modern nationalism and technology—will check the spread of English.

...

English will fade as a lingua-franca, Mr Ostler argues, but not because some other language will take its place. No pretender is pan-regional enough, and only Africa’s linguistic situation may be sufficiently fluid to have its future choices influenced by outsiders. Rather, English will have no successor because none will be needed. Technology, Mr Ostler believes, will fill the need.

This argument relies on huge advances in computer translation and speech recognition. Mr Ostler acknowledges that so far such software is a disappointment even after 50 years of intense research, and an explosion in the power of computers. But half a century, though aeons in computer time, is an instant in the sweep of language history.

Answer 7

Usually the nation with the biggest power spreads its culture and language. Take the Greeks or Romans for example, when they were in power, the world spoke their language. As simple as that.