World language

A world language (sometimes called a global language or, rarely, an international language ) is a language that is geographically widespread and makes it possible for members of different language communities to communicate. The term may also be used to refer to constructed international auxiliary languages. English is the foremost world language and, by some accounts, the only one. Other languages that can be considered world languages include Arabic, French, Russian, and Spanish, although there is no clear academic consensus on the subject. Some writers consider Latin to have formerly been a world language.

A world language (sometimes called a global language or, rarely, an international language ) is a language that is geographically widespread and makes it possible for members of different language communities to communicate. The term may also be used to refer to constructed international auxiliary languages. English is the foremost world language and, by some accounts, the only one. Other languages that can be considered world languages include Arabic, French, Russian, and Spanish, although there is no clear academic consensus on the subject. Some writers consider Latin to have formerly been a world language.

Arabic

Arabic has been described by Salikoko Mufwene as a world language—albeit a second-tier one after English and French due to limited use as a lingua franca—on the grounds that it is a liturgical language amongst Muslim communities worldwide. Mohamed Benrabah criticizes this argument, writing that "Rote learning and reciting Koranic verses for daily prayers does not necessarily yield spoken proficiency", but nevertheless categorizes it as a world language on the grounds of it being a supercentral language in de Swaan's global language system.

English

Academic consensus is that English is a world language, with authors such as British linguists David Crystal and David Graddol considering it the only one. Authors who take a pluralist approach nevertheless consider English to inhabit a unique position as the foremost world language; for instance, in de Swaan's global language system, English is the sole occupant of the highest position in the hierarchy: the hypercentral language. According to German sociolinguist , "[t]here is virtually no descriptive parameter or indicator for the international or global rank of a language which, if applied to today's languages worldwide, does not place English at the top". Ammon and Mufwene both posit that what sets English apart as the foremost world language is its use as a lingua franca, whereas Crystal focuses on its geographical distribution.

French

French has been described as a world language due to its status as a supercentral language in de Swaan's global language system, and Mufwene characterizes it as such based on it being spoken as a lingua franca or vernacular by people neither ethnically nor nationally associated with it outside of France.

Latin

Some authors consider Latin to have formerly been a world language.

Russian

Russian has been categorized as a world language on the grounds of being a supercentral language in de Swaan's global language system, and is characterised as a world language by Mufwene on the grounds that it is used as a vernacular or lingua franca outside of Russia by non-Russians.

Spanish

Spanish has been categorized as a world language on the grounds of being a supercentral language in de Swaan's global language system, and is considered a world language by German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon as it is spoken as a foreign language worldwide. Mufwene also considers it a world language—albeit a second-tier one after English and French due to limited use as a lingua franca—on the grounds that it is used as a vernacular by people neither ethnically nor nationally associated with it outside of Spain.

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