Paul J.J. Payack - A Million Words and Counting: How Global English Is Rewriting The World

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

This book is the result of the hard work of many people. First, I would like to thank the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Agency, Lane Zachary and my agent, Rachel Sussman, who guided me in this project over many months, strengthening my original vision along the way. Id also like to acknowledge Richard Ember, my editor at Kensington Books, who was most understanding as the deadlines shifted ever so gently but, more importantly, helped shape this book, providing valuable insights, notes and suggestions throughout the process of creation and revision. I am also grateful to Michaela Hamilton, the editor-in-chief for Citadel Press, who has been a strong proponent of this book from the very beginning. Design and production of the book took dedicated efforts by Elleanore Waka, production manager, and Arthur Maisel, production editor. Included in the editorial process was the very fine work of Erin Curler, and John Dolan, with his constant advice and analysis of my early work, should be noted. I would be remiss if I did not mention the constant prayers and encouragement of my dear friend Ron Pinkston. I am deeply indebted to Robert L. Beard, a.k.a. Dr. Goodword. I would also like to thank the Global Language Monitors Language Police, who are each expert in their individual fields, including Lou Lorenzo, Joe and Michael Marcello, Peter, Michael and Peter Paul Payack, Michael Manewitz, and Rico Blazer, among the many others who come to the Global Language Monitor website and offer their observations, criticism, and encouragement. I have very special thanks to my daughter. Elisabeth Lauren, who provided countless hours of research and editorial assistance. Finally, Id like to thank the Lord, who provided me with the talent, native intelligence and resources to accomplish this work.

Closing Thoughts

The Future of Global English

The conquest of Global English is nearly complete. It is impossible to hold back this tide. The tsunami of English has already swept over the earth. The question now is how to adjust to this new reality.

I have several suggestions. The first would be to master the language. Yes, acknowledge the sea-change, disassociate yourself from any political misgivingsand get on with it. Global English is here and nowand here to stay. Global English will reside, preside, and thrive. At least in some form.

Here are some possible threads of evolution (or devolution) of the language over the next four hundred years. I chose this perspective because that is the same temporal distance we are from the days of Shakespeare and the King James Bible.

Keeping in mind that the best way to predict the future is to read the past, here are a number of differing scenarios, one of which will be the future of Global English:

CHAPTER ONE

The Million-Word March

Never before in the history of the planet has a single language held as dominant a position as English does today. Some 1,350,000,000 people can now read this sentence in its original language. Think about that for a minute.

This fact stuns the experts, who for the last couple of decades predicted that English would be overtaken by Spanish or Chinese or some postmodern artificial language that you and I could never quite fathom, let alone speak. English was, after all, the tongue of the now-defunct British Empire, the vehicle for spreading American imperialism, and the progenitor of most of the ills of the modern world.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the funeral of the English language. It exploded! Rather than the great mass of humanity learning Chinese, the Chinese are learning Englishsome 250,000,000 of them by the latest count. Rather than the billion Indians of the Subcontinent rebelling against the language of their former subjugators, they are embracing it as the international language of science, engineering, and commerce. English is the primary language on the Internet, and in the entertainment world. On this planet of nearly 7,000 living languages (6,920 to be precise), English has become the first truly global language, the worlds lingua franca.