English is seen by some as 'the global language'. Discuss with Essay - 1

English is seen by some as 'the global language'. Discuss with reference to some of the domains in which English is gaining most - Essay Example It is interesting to discuss why English, and why not any other language. According to Crystal David (2003 ) a language achieves a global status only when it develops a ‘special role’ and fulfils certain functions. The ‘power function’ of language expects that it should enable us to gain goods and services in order to live well and lead a good life. The ‘community function’ of language helps us to represent a personal and social identity. The former is a centrifugal force and the latter is a centripetal force. Let us examine how far the English language is successful in playing the ‘special role’ which implies numerous facets, so that it can rightly be called an international language. One hypothesis can be that a language that is the Mother Tongue of people in maximum number of countries can be an international language. But geographically speaking, English is a mother tongue in a handful of nations like USA, Canada, Britain, Irela nd, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa several Caribbean countries and a few others. Yet, we observe that its influence has reached all parts of the world. Hence, being a mother tongue of many nations cannot be a criterion for being qualified as an international language. ... The language adhered to the religion and was retained. English was the language of administration during the British rule and even after Independence, English continued to be used as an official language in more than 70 countries like Ghana, Nigeria, India and Singapore, to mention a few. In the 19th century, England was politically a powerful nation. In the 20th century, its power began to wane and USA became economically dominant. The mother tongue in USA is also English. Political power establishes a language, as it happened in the 19th century. But it is economic power that helps to maintain and expand it. This happened in the 20th century when America became an economic power. It is indeed true that ‘English was at the right place at the right time’. ( Crystal David, 2003 ) The Industrial Revolution and the Electronic Revolution were two important historical events that changed the face of the world. These revolutions were led by British and American scientists. The y brought vast changes in the lifestyle of people all over the world and were two major steps towards globalization. Following these events, English language captured areas like media, advertising, popular music, broadcasting, cinema, computers and internet. In order to stay ‘with the world’, people realized that they had to know the English language. It promoted international relations. English is taught as a foreign language in more than 100 countries today, the chief among them being China, Germany, Spain, Egypt, Brazil, India and an ever increasing number of countries for that matter. A lot of time and money is spent by many countries in teaching English as a foreign language. It is realized by one and all

Managing Schools Corporate Image - a Case Study in University Essay

Managing Schools Corporate Image - a Case Study in University - Essay Example Just as any other corporations present in the community, pedagogical institutions are not exempted from this common situation in the community. It is necessary for educational institutions to project a good image and identity towards the community since they are considered responsible in shaping the future of every nation. As simple as these two ideas may seem yet in reality, this is one of the most difficult and the most complex challenges that a business may face that concerns management these days. In order to address this challenge, every organization must understand and recognize the importance of corporate image and identity. (http://www.lippincottmercer.com/insights/a_roberts03.shtml, para 4) In order to make sure that the company is developing the reputation it seeks from the community, the need for perfectly aligning these two elements - corporate image and corporate identity, is held necessary furthermore considered to be the only way of attaining such expectations. (http://www.lippincottmercer.com/insights/a_roberts03.shtml, para 2 & 5) "Identity goes to the heart of how a company creates value in the marketplace and in the financial markets. In a nutshell, that is the very essence of image management". This key element in building the reputation of the organization includes the organization's purpose, its vision, its strategy and its business objectives. " (http://www.lippincottmercer.com/insights/a_roberts03.shtml, para 2, 5 & 6) As a whole, corporate identity consists of all its products and services, as well as how its people behave that is projected through the shared values of the organization and its employees. Corporate identity digs deeper as to the process and the ways in which the company creates its own value in the community where it markets its products and services. (http://www.lippincottmercer.com/insights/a_roberts03.shtml, para 2, 5 & 6) On the other hand, corporate image has to do something with the people who had availed of the corporation's products and services, their impressions and associations towards the corporation as perceived through their experiences with the company. Generally, these impressions and association that the consumers have developed within themselves can however be controlled by the corporation. Everything that the consumers have to go through is capable of being controlled by the corporation to a greater or lesser degree. This "may include the tone and manner of its employees, its pricing structure, the quality of its customer service, the publicity it receives from the media, its social responsiveness and its activities in the community". (http://www.lippincottmercer.com/insights/a_roberts03.shtml, para 7) It is and has been conceptualized largely in terms of the visual aspect it projects to the people. In business management studies, they also suggest that image is determined mostly by the organization and is presented to the employees in both verbal and visual form. (qtd in Moffit & Williams, 1997) Managing effectively the corporate image and identity is considered as the only way of building the desired reputation of the corporation towards its target consumers. (http://www.lippincottmercer.com/insights/a_roberts03.shtml, para 7) Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) - A Case Study Pedagogical institutions, unlike any other corporations, have a more challenging management strategy