10 Reasons Why English Is The World’s Language

By Robby

If you are new here please read this first.

English is the World's Language

For as long as I can remember myself, I’ve been fascinated with the English language and all things related to it.

I had my first encounter with English when I was around ten years old, and I haven’t stopped loving and learning the language ever since!

Surely, there were plenty of challenges along the way, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I didn’t actually achieve English fluency up until seven years ago. I arrived in Ireland back in 2002 and it took me five years to figure out what exactly I’d been doing wrong all along in terms of my English improvement.

Anyway, that hasn’t changed my love for the language and now I believe more strongly than ever that ENGLISH IS THE WORLD’S LANGUAGE – at least that’s how I feel about it, and here are 10 reasons why I think so:

1. English is the Business & Finance Language

Let’s face it my friends – nowadays the global economy is more consolidated than ever, large corporations have established themselves all over the world in almost every country and all stock, commodity and currency markets are so closely tied up that even the tiniest changes in an important stock price will have a immediate effect on other prices worldwide.

It is only common sense that in a situation like this a common language would be chosen to make the information flow as easy and effortless as possible, and whether you like it or not – English is the language serving this purpose!

2. Worldwide Domination of Hollywood Blockbusters

Yes, there are a lot of regional film markets in other languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Chinese, Russian – you name it!

Yes, all Hollywood films get dubbed in those languages for local consumption and also we can’t ignore the fact that nowadays your geographical location is irrelevant. Even if you’re a Russian speaker living in Brazil, I’m pretty sure there are ways of acquiring the latest Hollywood blockbusters dubbed in Russian for free online within a matter of milliseconds.

Still, if you consider the following:

Hollywood is the most important center of film-making. Many foreign actors down through the years have learned to speak in English for the simple reason that you have to speak the language to be the part of the game!
Millions of foreigners watch Hollywood films IN ENGLISH with help of subtitles (which inadvertently wires the language into peoples’ brain);
A lot of film catch-phrases have gone down in history just the way they’re said in English (“I’ll be back”, “Say hello to my little friend” and a million others!)…

… you have to admit that English is the prevalent language in the movie industry.

3. If You Want to Make It to the Big Stage – You’ve Gotta Sing in English!

I hope you’re not going to dispute this one, my friends because you know only too well that I’m in the right!

Sure enough, there’s LOADS of Latino pop and dance music around (and its popularity is definitely on the rise, there’s no doubt about that!) – let alone local music industries catering for specific audiences.

If you want to make it to the international music arena, however, English is an absolute MUST. I guess I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that English started dominating the world’s music since pre-Beatles times, and its relevance has been only increasing over time.

The simple fact of the matter is that any rock/pop/dance music act who wants to hit the charts overseas WILL sing in English!

4. Books & Literature in the Original Language Which is… English, Of Course!

I’m a keen English fiction reader – there’s always a book or a Kindle reader to be found in my workbag and I tend to use every opportunity I can to catch up with my reading.

Throughout my childhood, early teenage years and adolescence I also used to read loads and needless to say it was literature printed in Latvian (I only started reading in English in my early twenties) and I read plenty of renowned classics as well as loads of sci-fi literature.

The amount of literature available in English as opposed to Latvian, however, is MIND-BOGGLING!

I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have enjoyed David Gemmell’s heroic fantasy fiction or any of the GONE series books if I wasn’t reading in English, and while I have to admit that this might not be the case with bigger languages such as Spanish, French and Russian, the fact still remains – most popular fiction is written by English speaking authors.

5. Simplicity of the English Language

I’ve written about this subject previously on my blog – check out this article! – and I have to tell you my friend, it did cause some pretty controversial exchange of opinions and heated debates (check out comments on the above link!).

Too bored to read into those lengthy comments?

Now, here’s the list of it all:

(written by a native English speaker) English is in fact damn hard – or else there wouldn’t be so many foreigners speaking incorrectly, right? (this is a typical logical fallacy…)
English is the easiest language on the planet Earth – just stick words together and off you go! (slight exaggeration, of course it’s not THAT simple!)
It’s easy only for beginners; when you’re getting into your advanced English learning/improving stage you have to brace yourself for some pretty mind-bending/head-wracking English grammar stuff… (I’ll call BS on this one too – grammar is NEVER head-wracking if acquired through speech patterns.)

One way or another, I personally feel that English IS relatively simple (despite of all the irregularities that are driving others NUTS but I just laugh at it all because contextual learning takes care of it) language and I believe that this factor definitely contributes to its worldwide popularity.

6. Versatility and Sophistication

I’m sure some other big languages might also possess these characteristics, but the fact of the matter is that English has the largest vocabulary of all other languages on the planet.

A lot of extinct and existing languages have contributed into the English language – starting with Latin and ending with French, so I guess it would be fair to say that the English language has taken the best from the Germanic (English, German, Dutch) and Romance (French, Italian, Spanish) language groups which allow for very diverse means of expression.

Basically in English, you can say the same thing is twenty different ways depending on what vocabulary you use – there’s slang, there’s conversational English, there’s formal and there’s very formal language – while in other languages you’re more limited to what and how you can say this or that particular thing.

7. English is the Language of Travel!

It’s fairly simple.

English speaking countries are the most affluent regions on this planet, and the number of people going abroad on overseas holidays have created the phenomenon of English being the common language people with different national backgrounds use to speak with each other.

Personally I’ve been to Greece, Spain, and Portugal, and my experience backs up my claim by 100% – English is the language used when the local hotel, restaurant or retail staff members communicate with foreigners and visitors.

I can’t vouch for the entire world of course (I’ve never been outside Europe…), but I have a strong feeling that if you went backpacking across South-East Asia or scuba-diving in Egypt, you’ll always find someone who has at least broken English to give you directions and help you find your whereabouts.

Also, judging by what I’ve read, English speaking folks who learn other languages always have difficulties getting natives to speak in their native language with them and most of the time they’ll be spoken to in English, so it kind of goes without saying that English IS the unofficial world’s travel language.

8. English is Also the Unofficial Language of the Internet!

There are billions upon billions of websites on the Internet nowadays, and it’s estimated that more than half of the entire online material is published in English.

Yes, I know, the number of non-English websites is growing at an alarming rate, and I’ve heard some non-sense predictions that in a couple of decades we’ll be all speaking Chinese, but for the time being I’m just merely stating the OBVIOUS – the Internet speaks in English!

9. US and Other English-speaking Power-states

US is still the mightiest country on the planet Earth, and no matter what you think about its impending financial apocalypse, imminent peak oil disasters or Illuminati conspiracy theories, it’s still the most powerful country and a technological, financial and military force to be reckoned with.

English is the official language of the US and the former Commonwealth Countries – UK, Canada, Australia and others – and it’s also widely used across the European Union as the common language.

Those are important states, and it makes English an important language.

Do you think my logic is flawed? Well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but you won’t change mine, either!

10. Speaking Fluent English Denotes a Certain Social Status

We’ve all heard about business opportunities in China and other developing nations, and we all know for a fact that Californian Hispanic population has reached its all-time high figures in recent years.

German is the most commonly spoken language in Europe – if you believe a radio commercial I heard fifty times a day a while back (they were advertising job opportunities in Germany) – and if you speak in Arabic, you can travel pretty much the entire Middle-East and Northern Africa.

Despite all that, foreigners from all over the world are trying to master English, and the number of people trying to learn the language is growing astronomically for the simple reason that English has become somewhat like Math or Geography in any school curriculum.

If you speak fluent English, your job opportunities are much better than those of your peers, and it’s inevitably leading to a certain social status being assigned to fluent English speakers.

ENGLISH and SUCCESS have become synonyms!

=================

Now, tell me what YOU think about this list.

Do you agree?

Do you disagree?

Do you think this entire article is a pile of s&%t?

Would you add another couple of points to this list?

Let me know in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading,

Robby 😉

P.S. Would you like to find out why I’m highlighting some of the text in red? Read this article and you’ll learn why it’s so important to learn idiomatic expressions and how it will help you to improve your spoken English!

P.S.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE!

P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out the English Harmony System HERE!

Robby Kukurs

Hi Ally,

Personally I don’t agree with English being the language of education.

It holds true in certain countries where it’s the official language, but I don’t think it’s fair to say it’s the language of education worldwide.

Regards,

Robby
Robby Kukurs

Well, that’s what we’re all like, isn’t that right?
Tee

Really Robby! I thought u would know quite a lot about Chinese! Well that’s just how some people are like! U know a lot about this language but not much about that.
Alison Tan

That’s very true, I agree
Ally Wang

I agree that English is a global language and I think that this article made sense. I think you should add another point:
11. English is also the language of education.
PierreNodoyuna

Sorry Yadda, Spanish is not a dead or archaic language, neither Chinese, French, Portuguese or German, for that matter. Is you dont speak the language you can not say that it hasn’t changed in the past 500 years, since you dont have a reference. English is not the easiest language to learn or understand as a 2nd language. Only it wil be the easiest is you learn it as a 1st language. Actually there are other languages that coud claim that. A professional lingust, even monolingual in English, will tell you that. French, Spanish and Chinese sound like “one giant slur of words lumped together” to you, because you only speak English. Just imagine how English sounds to non English speakers. It seems that you are a monolingual English speaker with issues about other languages. Right now English is the international language, true, but several generations from now, who will know? The world is changing so fast that to predict that, is kind of naive. Is the world the same after 9/11? Did someone predicted that? Is good to be proud of your language, but that does not mean that you should demean other languages as worthless. If you have a sense of humanity within you, you wouldl respect other people’s culture and language. So, are you a part of humanity? Aufwidhessen, Au revoir, Adios, Ciao, Sayonara.
Viengvilay TheMagnificant Xaya

Yeah I know it’s ironic, but I’m better at English speaking/reading/writing than math, of course you can thank growing up in the West as part of such skillful language acquisitions. Merica! Right?

English is the universal language of planet Earth, but math is the universal language of the universe, and as an Asian I wrack-a-disciprine at this particular language for now. It doesn’t follow through with the Asian stereotypes, but that may change here in a bit.
Robby Kukurs

Thanks for the input Chris, I hadn’t heard that Mandarin isn’t really popular among other Asian nations, it’s something new to me!

Anyhow, one thing I know for a fact is that Chinese are hell-bent on learning English and its popularity is growing all the time in Asia in general, so there’s that.

I think when people say Mandarin is going to overtake English, what they really mean is that the ever increasing population of China is going to overtake the number of English speakers worldwide. They don’t really believe themselves that people from other national backgrounds will start learning Mandarin in ever increasing numbers.

Cheers,

Robby
Chris

As an international teacher, I must say that I laugh heartily when some people say that Mandarin will overtake English as a global language. I taught in Southeast Asia. There, in China’s back yard, Mandarin is not popular. Furthermore, the Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian and Indonesian peoples do not like the Chinese and that often translates into indifference to learning Mandarin. Of course it doesn’t help that when Chinese people travel they are both unfriendly and often rude. To sum up: There will be no serious challenge to the English language as the world’s lingua franca for at least 400 years.
Robby Kukurs

I’m really glad Jordan that you find my blog interesting – and I hope to receive new comments on my future posts and videos from you – you make a really interesting discussion going on! 😉

Speaking of the “little, interesting book” – of course people don’t speak like that in real life, all I was referring to when saying “correct” was – it’s not INCORRECT from the grammar perspective. As far as native-like, conversational speech is concerned however, it does sound “wrong” indeed, and I’ve written about it extensively on my blog, here’s one of the best articles about the subject: http://englishharmony.com/gut-feeling/

Thanks for the conversation, and on the finishing note – I don’t believe that a non-German speaker would achieve a better result in a years time all other things being equal than the non-English speaker. But that’s my personal opinion! 😉

Cheers,

Robby
Jordan Wyvill

the German student would probably speak better than the English student in the real world”. In any case, I really like your blog! I particularly liked your post on Word order in questions. Ellipsis is very common in English. Deletion of auxiliary verbs on questions are common. So are verb phrase ellipsis, gapping, stripping etc. I don’t know how commonly this is done in other languages. Anyway, sorry for the long winded posts, I just find your blog really interesting. I have it bookmarked for future reference.
Jordan Wyvill

Yes, I agree like I said both constructs are grammatically correct. However, I’ve yet to any English speaker that would agree with saying ‘it’s a little, interesting book’. I’ve asked my parents, linguistics lecturer, friends, coworkers & native English speakers I’ve met travelling (Australians, Americans, Canadians etc) and all agree they would never say it like this because it just sounds ‘strange’ or ‘funny to my ear’. I’m still early in the early stages of my language studies and as of yet do not know why this is. Try it out on active speakers, see which option they would choose 🙂 oh an I most definitely agree all languages have nuances that make them difficult to speak to a native level. I’m not saying English is harder but I personally don’t think it’s easier. I went to a class on Berlin to learn some German basics and the lecturer said in his opinion (he was a native German speaker but lived in the US for 20 years). “If I were to put a non German speaker in a room to study German for a year and do the same to a non English speaker for a year
Robby Kukurs

Thanks for your lengthy comment, much appreciated!

So let’s address all the points you’ve made.

You’re saying there has to be bigger emphasis on foreign languages in English speaking countries. Yes, it does sound like a good plan, but in reality I believe it all boils down to practicality. Is there an actual need for Americans to USE Japanese in their daily lives? Well, I don’t think so…

Next – languages open up new opportunities and allow you to explore new cultures. Generally speaking it’s true, but there’s something we have to factor in – it’s people’s MOTIVATION. You’re currently learning plenty of languages and you’re enjoying your life through them which is just great. If, on the other hand, the education system would FORCE it all onto native English speaking students, do you think they would embrace is and start pursuing language studies on their own volition and start exploring all those cultures? I guess that more often than not it would be just throwing money at the problem…

Lastly – English is difficult to master to a native speaking level. Yes, I agree! But then again – isn’t EVERY language the same? Each and every single one of the world’s languages have finer details that will come to the learner only over a longer period of time, so I’d say English isn’t necessarily more difficult to achieve a native-like level at compared to other languages.

Speaking of your example with the interesting little book – both examples are actually correct!

You can say: “This is a little, interesting book” and you can also say “This is an interesting little book” – and both sentences mean the same thing because in the first instance you pause thus implying that the book is both little and interesting.

Thanks for your comment, much appreciated!

Regards,

Robby
Jordan Wyvill

I think English is definitely the language of the future, needless to say I think English speaking countries need to have more emphasis on foreign language. I studied Japanese in High-school and one hour a week for four years gets you nowhere. I think English’ popularity worldwide has led to a relative lack of importance being placed on foreign languages in English speaking countries such as Australia. I’m currently studying Mandarin, French and Spanish at University whilst trying to learn German in my own time. Languages open you up to cultures in a way that your own language doesn’t. I think the main reason as stated is e availability of content. Even in Europe people that ‘don’t’ speak a English generally will understand individual words just because everyone is bombarded with English music, movies, television programs and so on. As for the argument as to how hard English is, I definitely don’t claim is overly difficult. However, until visiting countries and learning my aforementioned languages I had never had any real exposure to them on the flip side most people around the world are exposed to English regularly which I think really does make a difference. I don’t find grammar in French or German difficult I’ve always had a great memory so they are not an issue for me. I must say though pronunciation is what I struggle with me. Tone, intonation, glottal sound etcetera, I can already feel a headache forming. The main benefits of English I’ve found while studying other languages:
1. It’s much easier to obtain an intermediate level of speaking compared to other languages.
2. Even if you speak very poorly unlike other languages a native speaker can generally work out what you are trying to convey. Opposed to what I find in some other languages where if you get it wrong it’s incomprehensible.
Not to start a disagreement, but English is difficult to master to a native speaking level (spoke english). I work in a very tourist driven business and 9/10 times I can guess if English is someone’s second language. It usually comes down to things such as misuse of idioms, unable to pronounce th or v, improper use of phrasal Berber my favourite constructing sentences that are grammatically correct but wrong only because ‘they don’t sound right’. A good example I’ve found is ‘a little interesting book’ vs ‘an interesting little book’. Both are correct, which one is right? I think like you’ve discussed these nuances are what you learn through talking not learning, that is the key. Bottom-line, even if you don’t speak English like a native speaker you probably still speak it very well.
Robby Kukurs

Thanks for the positive feedback, much appreciated! 😉
Glwin

Excellent Article Robby, I agree with you and I am sure that anyone who read your article has learned something from you and you would hold lesson from their comments , not only for English but for their critics and mislike.
Robby Kukurs

I agree with you completely on what you’re saying – but speaking of the last paragraph of your comment where you’re saying you believe in a hundred years there will be an English-based language – I’d like to disagree.

I believe that the current form of English is ALREADY that language – it has adopted plenty of loan words from other languages so I personally find it hard to see how it would be possible for English to morph into an even BETTER working form.

Well, no doubt about it – it will change just like any other language changes over time, I just think that the English language has already achieved the ultimate status of the world’s language and its vocabulary is very versatile as it is.

Just my opinion! 😉

Regards,

Robby
Daoloong

I think some of the draw to English is both cultural exportation (Hollywood and pop music); part is its geographic expansion across the globe (French comes close because of its influence in colonial Africa, but that is waning); it’s relative simplicity in terms of grammar (no gender to nouns, no matching tenses to verbs or adjectives, only singular definite articles, etc.); and because certain fields have for whatever reason, become English dominated (business, air flight, finance, online material, etc.).
My personal belief is that in a hundred years or so, there will be an English based language that will have absorbed a lot from other languages, and become more of a useful working language.
Robby Kukurs

I’m not going to disagree, but neither can I agree simply because I haven’t got any experience learning Chinese or Latin.

All I can say from my own experience is that if you learn a language as a spoken language, it’s a walk in a park compared to learning its grammar and writing.

I learnt Russian that way. I learnt some Romanian that way – and it didn’t present any difficulties to me. German, on the other hand, was a disaster because I studied it the traditional way by learning grammar and in the end I can’t speak it anyway!

So I’m guessing that if I were to ignore the Chinese hieroglyphs by focusing upon learning the spoken language only, the experience wouldn’t probably be as dreadful.

Regards,

Robby
Guest

Well, study languages like I do. There are some that are retarded because they continue to be archaic and outdated and refuse to become simpler. Others adapt and become more flexible. The language of Latin, for example, is still easier to learn than modern Chinese, despite Latin being a “dead” language and over 2000 years old. It’s simply easier to learn than Chinese. And to top it all off, it actually has an alphabet, rather than chicken-scratch pictures like with Chinese.

And even many French agree that their language is just a headache to fully grasp, even for themselves.
Robby Kukurs

I totally agree with you on all the points you made in your comment! Especially about the different levels of English – while achieving fluency in formal English may take years of hard work, conversational fluency can be achieved in a relatively short space of time.

Thanks for the comment!

Robby
Robby Kukurs

Well, I personally wouldn’t be so harsh on other languages as to call them retarded, but I have to admit that I also think English is a very, very easy language to learn due to its relative grammatical simplicity (it’s not a heavily inflicted language), loan words from other languages and also popular culture.

Speaking of moving to US – well, it’s my dream to go there at some stage in my life but currently I’m stuck in Ireland because we’ve settled here (family, house – that kind of thing).

I have been, however, constantly working on my American English. It’s totally doable even when living in another English-speaking country – you may want to check out my other blog http://accentadventure.com/ where I’m discussing accent acquisition related matters!

Cheers,

Robby
NightShade_Darkpaw

English, French and Spanish are a trimunative of “world languages”, but English pushed French off the first place during the Interbellum and WW2 and even with Spanish’s rising prominence in the United States, especially the Southwest, South and Eastern Urban Corridor…English is still not only the global lingua franca, but I’d dare to call it a “prestige language” in Nations where it isn’t the first language. And English is pretty complicated toward the upper levels, but is a truly versatile and interesting language even on a basic or intermediate level.
NightShade_Darkpaw

It’s a “prestige language”…it does have a certain status in countries like French has in English speaking countries…
Yadda Yadda Yadda

You’re right of course, about all the points you mentioned concerning English. It is the world language, and becoming more so every day.

Idiots may claim that Chinese is growing faster than English, but only because the Chinese population is becoming bigger due to overpopulation. Spanish as well, is a dead and archaic language that in reality hasn’t changed much in the past 500 years or so. It has become obsolete and severely outdated.

English is the language of the future, and is the easiest language to speak, to learn, and to understand. Languages like Chinese and French are so nonsensical and retarded, their pronunciation is backward and it all sounds like one giant slur of words lumped together, just like Spanish.

But English has acquired words and styles from more than just European languages, as there are Arabic words and meanings that have been applied into the English language, as well as Native American and some Asian.
meenu

i try to practice on online chats but i always faced wrong people ,they always do nonsense talk ..
meenu

Dear robby ,what can i do ? i know little bit english but where i practice ? some of my friend speak english very well but i afraid if i speak in front of them ,may be i made mistake then they will laugh ..& some personal problems are surrounding me ,i couldnt take sound sleep .all time my mind is full with tension .
Robby Kukurs

Well, it’s not to be tolerated under any circumstances, it’s just not normal! I’ve written about it before, please read this article and watch the video: http://englishharmony.com/discrimination/
meenu

I do not feel good when my friends talk in english & make my joke in front of everyone that she does not know english ..poor girl ..sometimes they make me feel that i am nothing .i do not know anything ..i cry ..so english is essential for living in educated & high class society .If you dont know english they will make joke on you ,in front of everyone.
Robby Kukurs

I agree with you 100%, well said!
meenu

i agree with robby .engilsh doesnt make superior anyone but it is necessary for understanding todays world .i am from india & our mother toung is hindi .instead of using hindi official language ,we use english as official language .
Robby Kukurs

Superiority and a certain social status are a totally different kettles of fish, so to speak.

By the same token, you could claim that if I were to say that a higher level of education denotes a certain social status, I’m being discriminatory against those without education.

It’s merely stating a fact, is all!
user9693

here you said this indirectly 10. Speaking Fluent English Denotes a Certain Social Status
user9693

try learning better english
Robby Kukurs

Your comment doesn’t make any sense to me, my friend!
David Sweetnam

I just saw these comments again Robby.

Yeah, in the end I left Prague and now live in Brno, pretty much so that I could have the chance to speak the local language. I still have some problems with people who hear my English accent and then they go into ‘automatic English’, but there have at least been some nicer experiences too.

I agree with you that foreigners try to take the opportunity to speak English, but this actually harms the relationship when English speakers are trying to learn the local language. After all, when in Rome…
Robby Kukurs

I may be one of the dumbest people on Earth, but I can’t recall saying that knowing English makes you superior! 😉 The point of this article was to list most reasons what’s made English so popular, that’s all my friend!
user9693

even a lowly american or british sweeper can speak way better english than you so english is not a synonym for success…..

you’re the one of the most dumbest person on earth, english is famous only because of colonisation nothing else…..english is just a language like chinese or german or any other language, knowing english doesn’t make you any superior than who don’t.
Robby Kukurs

Thanks for calling me disgusting – but that’s all right, I’ve been called worse! 😉

Now, first of all, I’m not American. I’m a Latvian national, and I’ve been living in Ireland for 11 years and learned to speak fluent English after years of struggling with fluency because I kept learning the language the wrong way.

I do respect other languages and cultures, and I don’t live in a bubble. I’m fully aware of how diverse our world is, but the simple fact of the matter is that English does open doors to success, better career and opportunities – whether you like it or not. It’s just a fact of life, and that’s what I wanted to convey with this article.

Regards,

Robby
whycantIpickaname

you are disgusting. most people who think english is a world language only speak english. english is NOT synonymous with success, but in your tiny american bubble it is. being successful in america is not a world standard.
Robby Kukurs

I try to respond to all comments on my blog, but I really don’t understand what you’re talking about in your original comment .
Rossjohn

Just delete them if you won’t bother.
immaculate

DUE TO THE ABOVE REASONS,I WISH TO KNOW HOW COLONIALISM,GLOBALISATION,TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT,AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMYARE FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RISE OF ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE
Robby Kukurs

Your comments on the one about language ease? Well, I’m not really sure if I know what you’re talking about…
Rossjohn

Oy read meh comments on the one about language ease!
Pingback: 5 Reasons Why I LOVE American Pronunciation()
Robby Kukurs

I fully understand where you’re coming from on this issue and I can also understand problems you’re encountering while trying to learn and improve Czech. The fact of the matter is – whether we want it or not – most foreigners are holding the English language in high regard and are trying to take every opportunity to show off their English skills thus only confirming its significant role among other language on this planet…
Robby Kukurs

Thanks Francisco!
Francisco Javier

Excellent article, Robby.
David Sweetnam

As an English speaker, it’s a double-edged sword. Wherever I travel, there’s always someone to talk to, locals who want to chat with me – but when I stay and want to learn their language, I’m blocked by a wall of English.

You’re right about the power of English, but even I now think it’s too much. Perhaps the rise of Spanish and Portguese will help balance things a little. What do you think Robby?