Suum Cuique

Today, English is the leading international language. Well, it is not as musically sweet as Italian. It also doesn’t possess the exotic richness of Chinese. English-speaking thinkers haven’t composed treaties, comparable to the ones by German-speaking philosophers. However, its undisputable status of the worldwide lingua franca definitely has certain deep-rooted causes. You might win a lottery, but the global dominance can’t be achieved by chance.

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One would put forward several explanations of this phenomenon. Political and economical clout of the British Empire laid its foundation. The only remaining superpower — USA — has carried on the Anglo-Saxon linguistical burden. Another explanation deals with the unique role, which English-speaking mass culture has played globally: from Hollywood movies to the Beatles to CNN. Let me offer you my own hypothesis of its resounding success, which doesn’t contradict the above-mentioned opinions.

Please, don’t exaggerate the importance of money and power. Francophone patriots and Arab oilers have enough dough too. The point is how they apply financial resources to promote their languages. For example, it is not easy to find French movies with French subtitles. There is a lack of websites for learning Arabic. But when you study English, there are thousands of subtitled movies, hundreds of appropriate sites. No conspiracy. Just efficient management.

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