4 ms·
Over 150 years? It is a far fetched claim that the influence of english started in the 1870's. I would say it started 50-60 years ago at most.
by pyrale 8y ago
Over 150 years? It is a far fetched claim that the influence of english started in the 1870's.
I would say it started 50-60 years ago at most.
- eastendguy 8y agoYes, after WWII. Einstein still published his key papers in German (1905), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annus_Mirabilis_papers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annus_Mirabilis_papers
- adrianN 8y agoIt started with the rise of the British Empire. Pax Americana just helped solidify it. Even without an English speaking US, English would be about as popular as Mandarin: there are a billion Indians.
- _jgdh 8y ago> there are a billion Indians That is true... but only 10% of Indians can speak English. It might appear higher because visitors are likely to remain in urban or tourist-y areas, where the percentage of English speakers is much higher.
- adrianN 8y agoChina also has many topolects. Only two thirds of Chinese speak Mandarin as first language.
- pimmen 8y agoEnglish still has a lot of influence over India, though. I think this thread is confusing influence with supremacy, English has had a huge influence on other languages and cultures for centuries.
- TulliusCicero 8y agoThe influence started with the rise of the British Empire. Obviously English wasn't dominant at that point the way it is now, but still internationally influential.
- pimmen 8y agoI would absolutely not say that. The British Empire encompassed more than a quarter of the population, and in the 1870s the US became the world's largest national economy. I think what you're thinking about is when English supremacy started, that can probably be dated to the post-WWII world when the US economy was far ahead of everyone else for decades.