The Future: Can Mandarin replace the position of English?

Is Mandarin able to replace the position of English?

As analyzed in the previous posts, Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world and it has met most of the criteria of becoming a global dominant language, in other words, it is ‘challenging the monopolistic position of English’ .In the global world. Even though Mandarin seems to be a threat to the dominance of English, it is not likely that Mandarin is able to replace English to become the sole dominant language in the world. Instead, we are probably entering a bilingual world where English and Mandarin will co-exist and both become the most influential and dominant languages.

http://www.webdesigncore.com/2011/03/15/10-informative-l
anguage-culture-infographics/ 

Regarding to the previous posts regarding the use of English in today's world, we have discussed about the dominance of English as a language of politics and science. English has long been adopted as an official language in varies countries and there are over 1,400 million  people living in countries where English is being used as an official administration, education and media communication etc. At the same time, there is a high degree of prevalence of English in scientific communication; more than 90% of scientific journals are printed in English. Thus, the dominant position of English is not going to change nor will it be replaced by Mandarin. As Graddol (1997) had stated: ‘the position of English has arisen from a particular history which no other language can, in the changed from a particular history which no other language can, in the changed world of the 21^st century, repeat’.

References:

1.      Ammon, Ulrich. The dominance of English as a Language of Science. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2001.

2.      Graddol, David. The future of English. London: British Council, 1997.

3.      Rappa Antonio L. & Wee, Lionel. "Language Policy and Modernity in Southeast AsiaMalaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand." Language Policy 6. (2006): 1-139.

Edited by Ingrid . Last update at 18th Mar, 2012