In an Empire State of Mind

For thousands of years people have fought for power. This is evident in the obvious cases, like the Spanish conquest in Central and South America, Hitler's ambition just before World War II, etc. However, there are cases were it isn't as clear, but in the end about everything we do, we do for power without even realizing so. About every dream anybody can have is related to power: Fame, wealth, and success would all give a person power over other people. And don't even get me started on the impossible dreams people have, like immortality, mind-reading, and time-traveling (yes, even time-traveling; just think of Back to the Future). So it must be of no surprise that language has now become a means of power as well.

As languages fight for power, some fall and some rise. Latin is already pretty much inexistent, while English is at its peak. However, it doesn't happen to be there just because. It actually took centuries of work in order for it to be at the top. During the 1600's and early 1700's the British colonized what is now known as America. By the middle of the 18th century, the United States had already developed into thirteen colonies. Later on, they began to fight for independence, and in 1776 Americans earned their freedom from England. The British who held power were forced to leave... well all but one, though: All except for the English language. Americans might have thought they had gotten rid of all British dominance, but they had missed this, which could even be considered the most powerful of all. After all, "languages can enslave the people" (8:50).

Later on, the British moved on to other countries, among them, India. When they began colonizing India, this country had tons of languages. However, they began to impose English as the most important one, and it was obligatory to have this language taught in schools. Eventually, English became the prevalent language, and anybody who spoke English became "superior." Just like this, the people of yet another society had become the slaves of the English language.

Nowadays, this slavery has spread all over the world. Anywhere on the globe, people who speak English are automatically superior, and this language continues to become increasingly spoken by the public. You can basically go to any country in the world, and it'll be ok if you don't speak its language... well, as long as you know English. Because now the English empire has spread, and "the sun never sets on the English language" (0:51).


The Adventure of English (Episode 7):
RainbowEyes1000. "The Adventure of English - Episode 7 - The Language of Empire (1/5)." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7, Oct. 2012. Web. 31. Jan. 2013.

RainbowEyes1000. "The Adventure of English - Episode 7 - The Language of Empire (2/5)." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7, Oct. 2012. Web. 31. Jan. 2013.

RainbowEyes1000. "The Adventure of English - Episode 7 - The Language of Empire (3/5)." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7, Oct. 2012. Web. 31. Jan. 2013.

RainbowEyes1000. "The Adventure of English - Episode 7 - The Language of Empire (4/5)." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7, Oct. 2012. Web. 31. Jan. 2013.

RainbowEyes1000. "The Adventure of English - Episode 7 - The Language of Empire (5/5)." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7, Oct. 2012. Web. 31. Jan. 2013.