Questão de Língua Inglesa

Read the excerpt on which questions 69 through 74 are based. The truly significant development, which has occurred only in the last one hundred years or so, is the use of English, taking the most conservative estimates, by three or four hundred million people for whom it is not a native language. English has become a second language in countries like India, Nigeria or Singapore, where it is used for administration, broadcasting and education. In these countries, English is a vital alternative language, often unifying huge territories and diverse populations. Then there is English as a foreign language used in countries where it is backed by a tradition of English teaching, or where it has been more recently adopted. Here it is used to have contact with people in other countries, usually to promote trade and scientific progress, but to the benefit of international communication generally. A Dutch poet is read by a few thousands. Translated into English, he can be read by hundreds of thousands. The emergence of English as a global phenomenon as either a first, second or foreign language has recently inspired the idea that we should talk not of English, but of many Englishes, especially in the Third World countries where the use of English is no longer part of the colonial legacy, but the result of decisions made since independence. But what kind of English is it? This is a new and hotly contested debate. The future, of course, is unpredictable but one thing is certain: the present flux of English multinational standard of international Babel? is part of a process that goes back to Shakespeare and beyond. (Robert McCrum et all. The Story of English. Adapted) 19 SEED0902/14-PEB-II-Inglês-13-tarde