Even as English has become the world’s dominant lingua franca, minority languages such as Welsh and Basque have experienced a resurgence. Can you explain these two apparently contradictory trends?
Is this question on your take home exam?
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English has become the global tongue probably primarily because of the popularity of American entertainment and the influence of American trade, in much the same way that the dollar is the top currency.
English imperialism laid the groundwork by spreading the language to North America, parts of Africa, India, Hong Kong and Australia. The US has taken the torch and with our global entertainment and commercial and banking/investment infkuence, we’ve made English #1.
At the same time, old local languages like Welsh and Basque have found their footing again among local Welsh and Basque families. They want to keep the languages of their ancestors alive.
These events do not really affect one another: one is global and the other is a relatively local phenomenon.
Thank you! This is a question from the barron’s book btw, I was just curious about the answer