english as a world language 🧇

a common language

words or phrases that are commonly understood by a group of people

a global (universal) language

the most widely used language in communication in most places in the world

a vernacular language

a language commonly spoken by people in a particular country or region

a peripheral language

a language that is largely oral and rarely has any kind of official status

a central language

a language which is written, taught at school and has its own territory

supercentral languages

very widely spoken languages that serve as connectors between speakers of central languages

a hypercentral language

the language that connects speakers of the supercentral languages; a global language

an obscure language

a little-known or less widely spoken language

a second language

a language that is different from the mother tongue learned at birth but is the predominant language spoken in a region

an official language

refers to a language used by people in authority, especially the government of a country [the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc.]

lingua franca [ˌlɪŋ.ɡwə ˈfræŋ.kə]

a language used for communication between groups of people who speak different languages

the language pyramid [ˈpɪr.ə.mɪd]

a system of classifying languages based on the amount of speakers; a pyramid that includes peripheral languages > central languages > supercentral languages > the hypercentral language

globalisation

the increasing integration of economies and societies around the world particularly through international trade

to conquer the world

here: to become worldwide; to take control or possession of foreign land, or a group of people, by force, or to defeat someone in a game or competition

to get ahead

to achieve success, prosperity

to have something in one's toolkit

to have skills and knowledge that are useful for a particular purpose or activity, considered together

an importer/exporter of words

a language that borrows/gives words from/to another language

an anglicism

an english word or phrase that is used in another language

to absorb vocabulary

to acquire and retain new words

to infiltrate other languages

to penetrate or spread into other languages

Esperanto [ˌes.pərˈæn.təʊ]

an artificial language, made by combining features of several european languages, intended as a form of international communication

artificial vs natural language

natural languages have a group of native speakers, in addition to non-natives who adopt the language; constructed/artificial languages have no native speakers and are created for specific purposes

to promote universal understanding

to encourage people to understand each other's beliefs, cultural traditions, etc.

to learn from scratch

to learn from the very beginning

to dust off one's language

to use a language more often

an interlanguage/a hybrid language

a language formed by blending two or more different languages [e.g. spanglish, runglish смотря какой fabric]

a bridge language

a language used to facilitate communication between people whose native languages are different [lingua franca, basically]

to pose a threat to something

to create a threat of danger or harm

to rival [English]

to be able to take its superior position

language deterioration

the process of the language becoming progressively worse

language conservationists / purists

a person who is trying to preserve, protect a [the] language / a person who prevents languages [especially their own] from changing

literacy /ˈlɪt.ər.ə.si/

the ability to read and write

illiteracy

a lack of ability to read and write

linguistic disorientation

a state of confusion or bewilderment due to differences or unexpected features of a language

to be at risk of something

to be in a situation where something unpleasant might happen

to coin terms

to come up with new ways of saying something

to hold on to one's heritage...

...refers to all actions and measures taken to protect and maintain cultural heritage with the goal of preserving its messages and values for future generations

(un)intelligible

(un)able to be understood

to evolve

to develop gradually

to be at pains to do something

to try very hard to do something; to be eager and anxious to do something, especially because of the will to avoid a difficult situation

the hard truth

a truth that is difficult to accept