CC BY
23
Barakayeva D.H.
teacher
Samarkand imstitute of economics and service
IMPORTANCE ROLE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM
Annotation: English is indisputably the primary language of global trade and tourism since in many countries, most tourism authorities and other officials in contact with the public speak English to interact and engage with tourists.
Key words: English, tourism, hospitality, global language, commitment, hard work, international language.
English language plays a very crucial role as the predominant tool for communication in the global community. Some people whose native language is not English use the language in their daily lives. Most of these people live in countries where English is required for external purposes: to communicate and do business with people in other countries, and to catch up with the advances in the field of business. In addition, English is used as a means to transfer thoughts and cultures and to create good relationships between people in different countries. As a result, English has become an international language and is widely used as a medium for understanding and exchanging ideas among people all over the world. Nowadays, the role of English is important for tourism industry as a means to communicate, negotiate, and execute transactions with tourists by tourism employees.
Being the most widely used global language, English has been exerting a tremendous influence on all walks of modern man's life and playing an unsurpassed role in various spheres of his life. These comprise, among others, travel,tourism, and hospitality industry, in all of which the use of English has become an imperative need and much more than mere ostentation. The reverberations of the impact of English are being felt in the newly emerged knowledge economy as also in the traditional scientific, engineering, academic, and technological arenas. Besides, mass-media, library, banking, computer, internet, and a host of other fields also make vast use of English. With its evergrowing importance, the role of English in travel, tourism and hospitality industry has been assuming greater significance, and also undergoing some functional changes.
When people travel from place to place or embark on a tour, they come across people of different linguistic backgrounds and naturally they have to communicate with these people, if the purpose of their travelling, or touring activities has to be fructified. Although communication can take place through written language yet, it is the spoken form aided by the body language that is used more frequently for communicative purposes than any other modes. But the
problem arises when the tourists and travellers are ignorant of the languages used by the natives of the places visited.
In such cases, there is only one option left, and that is but using a common linguistic medium known to both the parties - the visitors and the visited. That medium, in all likelihood, in the present world situation, is none other that English, because among the numerous languages used in the different part of the world, it is English that is most extensively used in the world presently. Its coverage is so vast that not many countries are ignorant of, and illiterate in English. So when English comes handy, it can be used for easy and effective communication or interaction in a multi - lingual situation. Hence, it has to be learned as best as possible so that people oral and written communication can be carried on without any disconcerting hitch. And learning English, in the true sense, calls for commitment and hard work.
When people set out on travels and tours, they confront with these diversities but English helps integrate all into a single family, aids free mingling, and bring about the much - desired solidarity.
Language skills are an important element of the hospitality industry. Understanding performance expectations are the key to the achievement of tourist satisfaction. Good oral and written communication skills are the top skills important to hospitality practitioners at different position levels. Good English communication during the study will add value to students' education. According to that fact, the hospitality program itself will encourage critical thinking and for example, tourism problem solving when it is necessary. In the tourism industry supply and demand side must communicate perfectly in order to ensure quality and needed performance standards. In business tourism practice, oral communication is a bit higher than written communication, but both categories are rated high. The authoresses, through a questionnaire, explore the importance of communication skills (speaking, reading, listening, and writing) in the English language among hospitality employees and students studying business and tourism.
Again those employed in hospitality industry such as air hostesses, those personal in standard and star hotels receiving and entertaining tourists and travellers from distant places, those employed in the foreign embassy such as diplomats and ambassadors. Foreign Secretaries of nations, and all those officials associated with travel, tourism and other hospitality activities find English the most convenient medium to interact with foreigners and many natives belonging to different linguistic communities. English enables them to engage in polite exchanges and come closer to one another effecting national and international integration. But what is required is to learn and use with facility all those English formulaic expressions which are indicative of politeness and good manners. In other words, the functional knowledge of English and its contextual usages should be mastered well be all those in cross -border mobility, and also associated with hospitality industry. Language
functions like: making polite requests, offering help etc are very crucial in hospitality industry. For, the personnel in such industries have to be extremely polite, tactful, warm, and profuse in their expressions exhibiting the least indifference and annoyance. Their language should be the least offensive and the most pleasing.
It is not merely during travel, tourism and hospitality that English language seems to be of assistance but during economic and business transactions as well. Those on the move, either propelled by entertainment purposes or profit motives, naturally have economic matters of grave import. Through its global communicability, intelligibility and universal acceptability, English helps not only international trade and other economic transactions to be conducted in an easier manner but inter personal economic dealings as well. Even internal trade is also smoothly carried out in a multi - linguistic set - up with the help of English. Businessman occasionally travel on business purposes to different states. Under linguistic plurality, it is mainly thought English that they have their contracts, agreements, and transactions drafted and fulfilled without confusion. Even tourists buy many things while they are on tours. It is English that facilitates their dealings. Again, most banking activities are also carried out through English. This makes financial and business dealings much smoother, too. When a personal moves about in strange and unknown lands, he / she has to seek information, every now and then, of various matters such as accommodation, food, destinations, shopping items, places of interest, historical backgrounds of the places visited, facilities available at different places, people to contact, etc. Being ignorant of the foreign tongue / s of the places, seeking information can be realized only through the common medium of English. Not only seeking information, but also giving information is also through English, thus, bringing a lot of relief and solace to the travellers in unknown countries. If travel is for a given purpose, tour is for entertainment and fun ; hospitality is extended from cultural point of view and sometimes shown with the ulterior motive of mere expediency. But it is essentially a manifestation of civilization and goodwill. And in all these cases, English has a major role to play as the international language. To conclude, in the global era, playing its multifarious roles, English has been reasserting its "World Language " status which no other language as yet could command, nor lay claim to. Beyond doubt, the impact of English is all - pervasive now. Some of the important roles played by English, as discussed in the foregoing analysis, point to the ever - growing relevance and importance of English. Good working knowledge of English signals a much brighter future and ensures easy mobility and suave communication skills for travellers, tourists, and for all those engaged in hospitality industry.
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