Exercise 5

Reading and summarise the text below in an academic style.

English is everywhere. Some 380 million people speak it as their first language and perhaps two-thirds as many again as their second. A billion are learning it, about a third of the world's population are in some sense exposed to it and by 2050, it is predicted, half the world will be more or less proficient in it. It is the language of globalisation – of international business, politics and diplomacy. It is the language of computers and the internet. You’ll see it on posters in Cote d'Ivoire, you'll hear it in pop songs in Tokyo, and you’ll read it in official documents in Phnom Penh. Deutsche Welle broadcasts in it. Bjork, an Icelander, sings in it. French business schools teach in it. It is the medium of expression in cabinet meetings in Bolivia. Truly, the tongue spoken back in the 1300s only by the ‘low people’ of England, as Robert of Gloucester put it at the time, has come a long way. It is now the global language.

How come? Not because English is easy. True, genders are simple, since English relies on ‘it’ as the pronoun for all inanimate nouns, reserving masculine for bona fide males and feminine for females (and countries and ships). But the verbs tend to be irregular, the grammar bizarre and the match between spelling and pronunciation a nightmare. English is now so widely spoken in so many places that umpteen versions have evolved, some so peculiar that even ‘native’ speakers may have trouble understanding each other. But if only one version existed, that would present difficulties enough.

(Adapted from: Oshima, A., & Hogue, A. (2005). Writing Academic English (4th ed.). Pearson Education.)

Answer:

English has become internationally spoken language by millions as a first or second tongue, with increasing learners worldwide. It captured most of the business, politics, technology, and media, appearing in every corner of the global. Despite complicated grammar and spelling, its widespread use has led to many versions, reinforcing its role in globalization.