On the afternoon of November 3th, 2022, the School of Foreign Studies of Jilin University invited Chen Yongguo, professor of department of foreign language of Tsinghua University, to give a lecture on “why English has become a world language”. This was the 7th lecture of 2022 Jilin University’s Academic activity on interdisciplinary studies for post-graduates, and also the first one of a series of activities in 2022 orgianized by the “Foreign Language+” academic exchange center of interdisciplinary studies. Professor Sun Mingli, the vice dean of the School of Foreign Studies of Jilin University, presided over the lecture, and the lecture attracted 200 or so teachers and students from both inside and outside our school. The whole lecture was divided into two parts.
In the first part of the lecture, professor Chen Yongguo defined English as an international language, which was the mother tongue, official language or second language and the major foreign language of many countries, and introduced the occasionality and inevitability of English becoming the global language.Professor Chen then introduced how English lost its nationality and gradually developed into an international language through hegemony in politics, literary and religious dissemination in culture and language simplification, along with the historical development of British politics, economy, culture and society.
In the second part of the lecture, Professor Chen Yongguo focused his attention on the history of American English and introduced the enthusiasm of European immigrants to create their own language since the colonial period, and how American English gained it popularity among the elite class, and became a mediating language among different races and ethnic groups, as well as how American language merged with languages of minorities such as Indian and African languages. With the rising of American technology and science, American English spread to the whole world, and due to the economic and cultural profits of American corporations, American English’s own subversiveness, the dissolution of Soviet Union and other international economic, cultural and political factors, it widely absorbed Chinese and other languages in the world, and finally became a world language.
At last, Professor Chen introduced the progress of how English has been learned, spread, developed and applied in China. In the Q&A time, Professor Chen emphasized that the emergence of English as an international language was not contradictory with improving Chinese national confidence. As researchers of English language and literature, we need to find the conjunction point, not only taking English as a world language, but also actively integrating into the development and transformation of Chinese English. Meanwhile, Professor Chen affirmed the value of encouraging the development of minor languages and languages of minor races and interdisciplinary research of English in the foreign language education.
Professor Zhang Meimei, dean of the School of Foreign Studies of Jilin University, made a summary of this activity. She pointed out that professor Chen’s rich knowledge accumulation , profound theoretical foundation, rigorous attitude of study and vigorous energy of academy can be reflected through this wonderful lecture, from which his academic quality can be passed down among numerous students and carried forward by young scholars.
In modern society, disciplines and majors tend to develop in a more sophisticated way, leading the majors of foreign language become more specialized, and the development of literature, linguistics, translation and other researching fields within themselves, creates barriers and obstacles towards academic innovation. Therefore, interdisciplinary foreign language and literature studies should be further promoted.
Today’s lecture sketched the developing track of English as a global language, demonstrated the evolution path of English through conciliation and hybrid, its research situation as the medium of world literature as well as its function and development in translation, which constituted a panorama of English. This lecture’s reflection of English history, perception of its current situation, and the research and judgement of development are the academic foresight, surpassing the professional border within subjects and providing knowledge and academic inspirations for young English scholars of different directions, who listened to this lecture, with rich thoughts and fun.
