A
With so many constantly developing varieties, the possibility exists that English will look different in the not-too-distant future. So what might be in store for the English language in the future?
“I think, as far as America remains the world’s number one superpower, the English language will be still very important,” says Osoba. “It will still be the language of science and technology, international educational research, including space research and international diplomacy.” In this case , this international standard variety of English will be the common factor.
“By then, no one will be able to claim the sole ownership of the English language,” Osoba says. “It will have become a common property of all to be called World English or Global English.”
Devy’s view on English’s future isn’t very different from Osoba’s, but Devy imagines a clear impetus(推动): the move away from writing as a common cultural practice. “If we have moved to an entirely digital medium for communication and knowledge acquisition(获取), English of the world may appear in the form of a new mix which has a reasonable global ability to communicate effectively but has stronger local inflections(音调变化),” Devy says.
These local inflections could be appearing partly as a result of the sheer size of the English language. Counting the number of words in a language is very difficult, but linguists generally agree that English has far more words than other comparable languages, likely due to its absorption of words from Latin, French, German and other tongues.
“As it happened to Latin in the past, when a language reaches its peak carrying capacity, it enters a period of a slow break-down,” says Devy. “English is governed by the same principle and is likely to respond to the stress in exactly a similar manner.”
1. According to the passage, we know Osoba thinks English will___________.
A. look completely different
B. be replaced by other global languages
C. move to an entirely digital medium
D. still have a high status in various fields
2. Why does English have much more words than other comparable languages?
A. Because it has a reasonable global ability.
B. Because it is spoken by the most people.
C. Because it has absorbed words from many other languages.
D. Because it is the most effective communication tool.
3. What is the structure of the passage?
A. ①-②-③④⑤-⑥
B. ①②-③④⑤-⑥
C. ①-②③-④⑤⑥
D. ①②-③④-⑤⑥
4. What may be the best title for the passage?
A. The future of the English language
B. The extinction of the English language
C. The real global language in the future
D. The huge number of words in English
