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The world is more globalised now than at any other point in history. Institutions and organisations rely increasingly on communication from people across the globe. This interdependence has led to the rise of global languages that can facilitate that need. While many languages could be considered global, such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese or Mandarin, it is English that is best poised to become the worlds common tongue. According to the book "English as a global language" by David Crystal, there are currently around 360 million native speakers, with 59 countries designating it as their primary language and many more using it in an unofficial capacity. It is not the largest language by the number of native speakers (Spanish and Mandarin beat it), however, if you were to include the number of non-native speakers that number swells to 2 billion, more then any other language in the world. English has become the most widely spoken language in international telecommunication, newspaper publishing, book publishing, international trade, scientific publishing, mass entertainment, diplomacy and is used as the international language for seafaring and aviation. For these reasons, it is considered by some to be the world’s first universal language. Considering the pre-eminence of the English language, there is no wonder why so many people have become motivated to learn it. Many Asian nations have become particularly enthusiastic about learning it. China has more speakers of English as a second language than any other country in the world, at approximately 200 million. In South Korea, learning English has been described by sociolinguist, Joseph Sung-Yul Park, as a “national religion”. It has also been described as yeongeo yeolpung, which can be translated as “English Frenzy”. It is an official language in Singapore and in 2018, the Premier of Taiwan, William Lai, announced that English would become designated as an official language. Some Asian international organisations have opted to use English as their official language, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The benefit of having a universal language is that it allows seamless communication within and between organisations operating in different countries. It also allows the exchange of ideas and culture between nations. There are, however, some concerns that this transmission of language and culture could supplant less dominant native languages and cultures. Finding a balance between rising global languages and more regional ones can be difficult. It is likely that more and more peripheral languages will die-out, but more significant national languages and particularly multi-national languages will prosper. English has long tended to absorb words and phrases from other languages. Some global languages, such as French, have resisted incorporation of foreign words with institutions such as the Académie Francaise being established to preserve their purity. This has never been the case with English. It has been described as a mongrel language, due to its proclivity to assimilate aspects of other tongues into it. In that sense, it is an archive of the many different languages that it has come in contact with it and gives greater credence to the notion that it is a global language.
