3 TOP TIPS FOR SPEAKING GLOBISH

Globish is a simplified variety of English languages that includes 1,500 words, uses short and simple sentences, does not contain phrases and in speaking you can assist yourself even with gestures. Globish is a simple, pragmatic form of English created by Jean-Paul Nerrière, a retired vice-president of IBM. Mr Nerrière, 67, originally sought to help non-English speakers in the era when business meetings are held in English. He advised that instead of struggling to master the Queen’s English, they should content themselves with Globish. His two books, Don’t Speak English, Parlez Globish and Découvrez le Globish, became bestsellers all around the world.

Some people say around 1bn are learning English at the moment, and this number will probably peak at around 2bn in 10-15 years. How many people already speak English? It is estimated that 1.5bn people or around one-quarter of the world’s population can communicate reasonably well in English. Latin was once the shared language over a vast area, but that was only in Europe and North Africa. Never in the history of mankind has a language been as widely spoken as English today. English is the language of intercultural business communication and the key to prosperity. English is no longer spoken just among native speakers, but it is the language in which Croatians speak to Germans, Germans to Italians etc. About 50 years ago, English had more native speakers than any language, but today English is also outnumbered by other fast-growing languages such as Mandarin, Spanish and Arabic.

However, English will survive since it is easy to learn. Verbs remain unchanged apart from the third person singular present (he works), definite and indefinite articles are unaffected by gender (the actor, the actress, a bull, a cow), and there is no need to remember whether a table is masculine or feminine. Yet, there are plenty of difficulties about English. Try explaining the difference between ‘I stood up to him’ and ‘I stood him up’.

English did not only spread around the world because it is easy; the British Empire and then American economic and cultural influence ensured its dominance. English has definitely become lingua franca and it is unlikely to see this challenged in our lifetime. But whose English will it be? Non-native speakers now outnumber native English-speakers by three to one. Business meetings held in English appear to run more smoothly when there are no native English-speakers present.

Many native English speakers will state that these are not variations, they are mistakes. ‘Knowledges’ and ‘phone to somebody’ are plain wrong. But why should non-native speakers bother with what native speakers regard as correct? The main aim, after all, is to be understood. Spoken language is being changed every day, and difficult to control by legislation. Perhaps written English will eventually make these accommodations too.