Week 7: Language, Power, and Colonialism
Source: WikimediaCommons Today, I watched interesting short films about English and its use in China, called The expansion of English in China and Global English use in European Union. The movies both depicted the use of the English language in two different scenarios in today's world. The key takeaways I got from the two videos: The expansion of English in China - English is considered to be the language of opportunity (to get rich you have to speak English attitude by parents). In order to dominate and not miss any opportunities, knowing English is considered to be an essential element. - Massive expansion of English in China has been happening in recent years. - English learning may come at an expense of knowing Chinese, as words are often substituted, such as the word "DVD" and other simplified terms. Global English use in European Union - English is becoming more used and valued, but not officially. Many people have a problem of English bei...