The emergence of English as a Lingua Franca has been an beneficial phenomenon for both native and non—native English speakers

Nowadays there are more than two billion English speakers all over the world and the emergence of English as a lingua franca has been of great help to the whole worlds development. According to Crystal（2003：10）， there are two main factors contribute to English developing into a lingua franca — British imperialism and the USAs fast economy growth in nineteenth century which is a period full of explosion of international activities. Lingua franca can be defined as a language that is spoken worldwide for people especially those who come from different countries to communicate with each other.

However， there is much discussion and debate on the extent to which English as a lingua franca benefits its speakers. Although some conservative people claim that English as a lingua franca lead to a great deal of difficulties both to native and non-native speakers， others take a different view and argue that English as a lingua franca attain many benefits， both for the native and non-native speakers. This essay will attempt to argue that while the emergence of English as a lingua franca presents a number of issues， it has been on the whole a beneficial phenomenon for both native and non-native English speakers. In order to demonstrate this， this essay will first focus on the benefits of native speakers and then show the benefits of non-native speakers.

A key argument for the emergence of English as a lingua franca benefiting native speakers is that it creates more job opportunities for them. As Burnett in Pennycook （1998）remarks： “not only in Asia and Africa， but in Europe， crisscrossed by linguistic frontiers and dissected by deep-rooted cultural loyalties， people of all classes now look to English as a window， a magic casement opening on every horizon of loquacious men”. Thanks to English attaining such a high status as a lingua franca， people all around the world need to learn English to be able to communicate with others in internationalized context and participate on the global stage. Therefore， the native speakers can build a large educational industry out of teaching their native language. This means that quite a large number of native speakers can get jobs by teaching English to non-native speakers owing to the emergence of English as a lingua franca.

It is true， however， some people argue that English as a lingua franca lead to native speakers losing the chance to learn a second language. Native speakers might be cultivated an elite monolingual class in English， but it is more likely to make them reluctant to learn other languages or reduce their opportunities to do so （Crystal， 2003：15）. Based on this view， those people hold the opinion that native speakers are disadvantaged due to English as a lingua franca.

However， there is no distinct contradiction between English native speakers learning a second language and using their mother tongue as a lingua franca. Indeed， whether they choose to learn a second language is highly depended on their personal desire. English as a lingua franca doesnt interfere in their learning other languages. On the other hand， it privileges native speakers because they can choose any other language to learn without consideration of the lingua franca. It cannot， therefore， be said that the emergence of English as a lingua franca depresses native speakers opportunity to acquire a second language.

In conclusion， although the emergence of English as a lingua franca presents some issues， its impact both on native and non-native speakers is definitely positive. It creates job opportunities and privileges them enjoying more choices of their second language for native speakers. As to non-native speakers， the emergence of English as a lingua franca makes it possible for them to communicate in international context. It is， therefore， evident that while there are challenges and problems， the emergence of English as a lingua franca on the whole is a beneficial phenomenon for both native and non-native English speakers.

References：

[1]Crystal，D.（2003）English as a world language.2nd edn.Cambridge： CUP.

[2]Pennycook，A.（1998）English and the Discourses of Colonialism.London： Routledge.

作者簡介：譚玉娣（1988.10-），女，漢族，江西南昌市人，南昌工學院，研究方向：英語教學。