English--the bridge to the world
It is said that English is the bridge to the world since English is widely utilized by people in business negotiation,communication with others,school education,and so forth.Two-thirds of the world speak English that originates from England and is also spoken as a native language in the other home countries of the United Kingdom,in the United States,Canada,Australia,New Zealand,Ireland,South Africa,and numerous other countries.English is now the third most spoken native language worldwide (after Chinese and Hindi),with some 380 million speakers.It has lingua franca status in many parts of the world,due to the military,economic,scientific,political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century to the present.Through the global influence of native English speakers in cinema,airlines,broadcasting,science,and the Internet in recent decades,English is now the most widely learned second language in the world.Many students worldwide are required to learn some English,and a working knowledge of English is required in many fields and occupations.Because English is so widely spoken,it has been referred to as a "global language." While English is not the official language in many countries,it is the language most often taught as a second language around the world.It is also,by international treaty,the official language for aircraft/airport communication.Its widespread acceptance as a first or second language is the main indication of its global status.