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0ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE
LAMIA RASET GIZI ALIYEVA
Azerbaijan University of Languages, doctoral student Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, teacher Baku, Azerbaijan
Summary. Modern English is used as a global language in the world. Currently, there is no other language in the world that can be compared with English in terms of the number of people who speak it and the breadth of the geography of its development. The fact that the English language has reached such a level at the end of the 20th century has led to the giving of various interpretations based on socio-political motives by experts. Researchers see the main reason for this is the simplicity of the internal system of English as an analytical language compared to other European languages, and at the same time, the large-scale colonial policy of the British Empire. In the presented article, discussing the dynamics of the development of the English language, the diachronic and synchronic aspects were discussed, and the question of the reason and necessity of the transformation of this language into a secular language was taken into account.
Keywords: global language, analytical language, colonial policy, common language, creole language
Introduction
It is known that in modern times, English is used as a global language in the world. Today, the English language being the main means of communication, successfully fulfills the task of a common language (lingua franca) between people who speak different languages. English language is the main means of communication used for the mutual integration of politics, international economic relations, scientific-technical, military cooperation, and multicultural values in our modern world. During its entire evolution, the English language, which has been subjected to fundamental changes under the influence of many languages, showed stability, continued the difficult tests of history, did not assimilate to any language, and was always able to maintain its status as a national language. In the presented article, the evolution stages of the English language are approached from both diachronic and synchronic aspects. Taking into account the above, the topic chosen for the article can be considered relevant.
Methodological basis of the study. Historical-comparative, inductive, deductive methods were used in the consistent and effective study of the topic chosen for the article, and the issue was approached from diachronic and synchronic aspects.
The main purpose of involving the mentioned topic in the research is to express the attitude towards the issue by analyzing how and by what necessity the English language was transformed from the language of the remote northern tribes to the global language used at the international level today.
English is a global language. Today we can unequivocally accept the idea that English is the global language of our modern world. There is no place on earth where English is not used to meet certain communication needs. Currently, English is used by most people in the world as the first mother tongue and the official language, as well as the second language and state language. Today, English is the language of the Internet, a global social network. The use of the English language has always been compared to the Chinese language and has rightly caused disagreement and controversy. The Chinese language is used as the mother tongue of about 2 billion people not only within the borders of the Chinese state, but also as the state language of that country. There are very few people in the world who learn Chinese as an additional language. However, English is an international language that has spread to almost all continents. Apart from Great Britain, English is used as the mother tongue and official language in the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Africa and many countries of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. Today, no language
can be compared with English in terms of geographical area and importance to society. This language is the second official language of India. "No one could have imagined 1500 years ago that the Germanic dialects spoken by warring tribes in the abandoned Roman colony in the far south of Europe would one day lay the foundation of a global language" [1, p.3]. Such a question arises: But for what reason, need or necessity, English became a global language?
Researchers have different opinions about the answer to this question. It is known that the history of the English language began in 449 when the Anglo, Saxon and Jute tribes attacked and occupied the British Isles from the distant Scandinavian peninsula. During its evolution, the English language, which lived through the Ancient (sometimes called Old), Middle and Early Modern periods and is still living in the most modern period, gradually changed and took a completely different direction from the Germanic language family, which it belongs to, from a synthetic, complex suffixed language with an internal structure from numerous grammatical categories, became a language free from morphological features. English, which was a fully synthetic language in the V-IX centuries, developed as an analytical language with a very simplified internal structure in the later stages of its evolution, and is currently considered the most classical analytical language.
When we analyze the environment in which the English language was formed from a diachronic point of view, we witness that "this language became enriched and improved during the period of occupations" [2, p. 2]. After the Anglo-Saxon tribes settled on the islands, their lives were almost spent in wars against foreigners. The Anglo-Saxons fought against the Scandinavian tribes (Vikings) until the middle of the VIII-XI centuries, and against the Normans in the XI-XV centuries. Victorious in all their battles, the English as a nation have been able to maintain their independence and their language, even though it has cost them centuries of continuous struggle against slavery. "However, the English language has undergone constant changes under the influence of both linguistic and extra-linguistic factors" [ 3, p. 22].
The English language has been under the influence of Latin, Scandinavian and French languages in its native land for centuries, and was deprived of the opportunity to become standardized and the state language. However, non-native languages suppressed the English language, this language did not decline, on the contrary, it gained a rich vocabulary due to the influence of non-native languages, many synonyms, homonyms and antonyms appeared in the language. "English as a Germanic language did not have a rich vocabulary. This language has become a rich language due to Latin, Scandinavian and French elements" [ 4, p.59]. After the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons to the islands, they displaced the Celts who were the inhabitants of the islands at that time. Some Celtic tribes fled to present-day Wales and settled there. Those who remained on the islands lived together with the Anglo-Saxons. Today, many words and toponyms in Modern English are of Celtic origin. For example, ambassador, town, dad, lawn, trousers, whiskey, wine, clan etc. words [5]; Leeds, Devon, Derby, Yorkshire, Aberdeen etc. [6] toponyms are of Celtic origin.
In general, since the tribes and states that occupied the British Isles have settled here for centuries, the languages they brought to the islands have deeply penetrated the English language. For example, although the Anglo-Saxons expelled the Romans from the islands, at that time Christianity was the only religion in the country, so the Latin and Greek languages were dominant in the country. Higher education and culture were promoted in Latin. At that time, a large number of words entered the English language from Latin, and these words are still used in English today. For example, agenda, datum, memorandum, galaxy, morothon, phenomenon, criterion, condition, stratum, obvious, ambiguous etc. [7] words can be an example of this.
Another language group that influenced the enrichment of the English language was the languages of the Germanic Scandinavian tribes - Norwegians, Swedes and Danes - who occupied the British Isles from the end of the IX century to the middle of the XI century (893-1066). O. Jespersen specially noted the role of the Scandinavian elements in the enrichment of the English language and wrote about it: "The Scandinavian tribes were not a terrible enemy for the Anglo-Saxons. Because these tribes lived in the same area and spoke similar dialects of the same
language" [4, p.60]. They came together in an area called Danelaw and became equal tribes with the same social level. At the same time, the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tribes were tribes of the same origin due to their way of life, religious beliefs, language kinship and lived in the same area for centuries. Therefore, it was inevitable and natural for these tribes to assimilate to each other both as a society and as a language with their long-term mutual communication. Diachronic studies show that the transformation of the English language from a synthetic language to an analytical language began after the arrival of the Scandinavian tribes to the islands, starting from the middle period of the evolution of the English language, starting from the XI century. These changes, the process of internal renewal of the language, were further deepened and accelerated by the occupation of the islands by the French-speaking Normans in 1066. From that time on, a language different from Old English and more similar to Modern English began to be formed. With changes in the orthographic, phonetic, grammatical and lexical system of the language, the English language already gained the status of an analytical language during the Norman occupation of the XI-XV centuries. During the early modern period of evolution, from the XV to the XVIII centuries, English became a language similar to modern English. The language was free from suffixes, numerous grammatical categories and morphological signs, its internal system was simplified, but it had a rich vocabulary. Many words have entered English from French.
Already from the XV century, the national awakening movement was widespread in England. The English aspired to be free of the Normans and the French language, and they succeeded. In the XV century, English was used as the only state and national language (vernacular language) of the country. During the reign of Elizabeth I, the positions of the English language and the English state were further strengthened. England was already pursuing a colonial policy as an imperial power, and as a result, the English language began to spread beyond the country's borders. In the XVIII and XIX centuries, the English language crossed the oceans and seas of the USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, India, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, etc. became the language and thus, as a world language, English spread to all parts of the earth.
In the period up to the end of the 90s of the last century, although the English language was used in many countries, it was not as widespread as it is today. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, English became a global language due to the political, economic and multicultural relations between the states in a new form and content, as well as the expansion of the use of the international Internet network. The Russian language was used as a common language in the territory of the former USSR and is currently used in the CIS as well. However, when the states gained independence and joined the world integration system, the role of the English language increased along with the Russian language. Today, people learn English to get higher education, to advance in their careers, to adapt to the demands of the times.
Sociologists attribute the transformation of the English language into a global language in our modern world with many reasons. In this regard, they take into account both political motives and individual qualities of the language itself. For example, they note that the grammatical structure of English is simple compared to other foreign languages, that there is no grammatical gender category that hinders the learning process in the language, as well as that English is different from many languages - Scandinavian, Russian, French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Indian, etc. the fact that there are many words borrowed from languages are mentioned as facts that determine the quick mastery of this language. There is some truth in these nuances. However, D. Crystal explains the main reason why the English language has become a global language today: "There is one main reason why the language has become an international language - the political and military power of the nation to which the language belongs. In any nation where these mentioned happened, its language was the dominant language. This has been the case throughout history" [8, p.9]. For example, 2000 years ago Greek was learned as the main language, of course, thanks to the conquests of Alexander the Great. Or the Latin language, Christianity spread throughout Europe, thanks to the power of the Roman Empire. The widespread spread of the Arabic language in Africa
and Eastern countries was the result of the wars waged by the Arab khalifas to spread Islam in the VIII century etc. The internal structure of these languages was quite difficult.
As for the English language, its use as a global language was a result of the colonial policy of the British Empire. Of course, language-specific features should also be taken into account, because compared to many foreign languages, English is a much easier language to master. However, the use of one language as a common language by people of different nationalities and with different mother tongues in a wide geographical area is the result of a deliberate policy. Today, English is the main language used in more than 100 countries of the world, in prestigious international organizations and institutions, in international politics, economic relations, education, and world sports. Currently, Pidgin languages have been formed based on English to communicate with people who speak different languages. A number of creole languages have been formed as Pidgin languages have evolved from the languages of small groups of people into widely spoken mother tongues. "The first pidgin appeared on the southern coast of Africa in the XV-XVII centuries on the basis of English, French and Portuguese" [ 9, p.58]. At present, Pidgin and Creole languages, formed on the basis of English, are spoken around the world.
Today, no other language has reached the level where English is used as a global language. Both as a primary mother tongue and as a second language, not another second language can be compared to English in terms of population and geographical area. Although Spanish is currently spoken in more than twenty countries of the world, or Chinese is considered the first language according to the number of people, although Russian is still used as a common language in the CIS, they cannot take a position as effective as English in terms of the purposes of use in society. Conclusion
Diachronic and synchronic research on the topic of the article allows us to come to the conclusion that the modern English language is used on all continents as a global language. Historically, it arose as a result of the state policy of the British Empire. At the same time, since the English language developed in a different evolutionary direction from other Germanic languages, it turned from a synthetic language with suffixes into an analytical language with a simplified internal structure. Also, the vocabulary of the English language is similar to that of many languages in the world - French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, etc. It is also rich in borrowed words from other languages. Due to the influence of such factors, as well as the modern political situation and the emergence of the secular Internet network, English has become a global language.
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