Page 46 - SREENARAYANAGURU OPEN UNIVERSITY

began to establish its colonies in other coun- countries are members of these organisations.
tries. According to them, they were civilized For handling their official matters, they need
people who had the responsibility of civiliz- an official language. English has solved the
ing all other people across the world. They problem.
termed it “the white man’s burden”. They
went around the globe and created their col- Consider this from the point of view of a stu-
onies and imposed their culture, which they dent. Your access to the renowned universities
found superior to all, onto the people there. across the world depends on your knowledge
The British Empire also imposed their native of English. To travel to any foreign country,
language, English, on the countries where they you need to pass exams like IELTS or TOEFL,
established their colonies. This is the begin- where your proficiency in English language
ning of the spread of English language. Grad- will be checked. Also, these universities may
ually, English was introduced in schools and in provide online contents, which will again be
handling official matters. The native people of in English. There are scientific journals and
these countries got familiarised with the lan- plenty of other international magazines that
guage. Even after the British left them in the can enrich your knowledge across disciplines.
wake of their independence from the British, They also use English as their language since it
the effect of English continued in their culture. will help most of the people to access it. Sim-
English has created a huge impact in the post- ilarly, if you are a research scholar and want
colonial world. to publish an article, if you choose to write it
in English, people across the world can access
In this era of globalisation, English has your ideas. If you want to read something for
become even more important. Imagine that leisure, there are a plethora of novels, stories,
you are a businessman. To expand your profit, dramas or poems available in English. Films
you wish to open branches of your business and music in English is enjoyed by people
product in different countries around the world. of all language communities. English, as the
When you have to deal with a client in Japan, global language, can solve the problem of
you will have to learn Japanese. Similarly, if communication barrier and can take up the role
the client is from Germany, you will have to of a bridge that can connect people across the
learn German. Is it possible for you to learn world in different fields like business, econom-
so many languages in a short span of time? If ics, education, international relations, science,
not, you will find it difficult to communicate. trade and tourism and entertainment, among
Now, imagine that there is a common language other things.
known to everyone across the world. Does that
make things any different? Yes, you will be able 1�4�2 Communication in English
to communicate to anyone around the world by We are familiar with communication as we
learning just one language. Today, nobody is have discussed it in detail in the first unit. In
confined to their home country. People go to order to express one’s thoughts through speak-
foreign countries to study and work and also ing and writing, there is a need for a language.
for tourist purposes. We are all familiar with People around the world use different lan-
international organisations like World Health guages to communicate with one another. We
Organisation, United Nations, International have seen that English is the language that is
monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation widely used by people to communicate. We
and scores of others. India, like many other have also seen the significance of English as a

40 SGOU - FYUGP - SLM - English for Communication