English still rules the world, but that’s not necessarily OK. Is it time to curb its power?
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Michele Gazzola examines the global dominance of English and its implications for linguistic justice. While approximately 373 million native speakers and up to 1.5 billion total speakers benefit from English’s status as the predominant international language, this hegemony creates significant inequalities. Non-native speakers face substantial learning costs—with Western European countries spending 5-15% of education budgets on foreign language instruction, primarily English—while native speakers access the global communication network essentially for free.
Beyond financial costs, Gazzola highlights professional disadvantages faced by non-native speakers. Research by Tatsuya Amano at the University of Queensland reveals that non-native English-speaking researchers require twice the time to read, write, or review publications, and face 2.5 times higher rejection rates for linguistic reasons. To address these inequities, Gazzola proposes compensatory measures including linguistic taxes on English-speaking countries, shortened patent protection periods for English-speaking businesses, and policies rewarding multilingual researchers in international funding applications.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
English’s Global Dominance
English serves 1-1.5 billion speakers worldwide and is systematically promoted in European education systems as the primary foreign language.
Unequal Learning Costs
Western European countries allocate 5-15% of education budgets to foreign language teaching, predominantly English, while Anglophone nations save these resources.
Professional Disadvantages
Non-native researchers need twice the time for English publications and face 2.5 times higher rejection rates for linguistic reasons alone.
Network Effect Inequality
Native speakers access the global communication network without learning costs, creating fundamental unfairness in international professional contexts.
Proposed Linguistic Tax
Philippe Van Parijs suggests taxing English-speaking countries to compensate nations that invest heavily in teaching English as a foreign language.
Alternative Compensation Measures
Solutions include shortened patent protections for Anglophone businesses, machine translation support, and policies rewarding multilingual researchers in funding applications.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Linguistic Justice in Global Communication
The article’s central thesis argues that English’s status as the predominant international language, while practically advantageous, creates fundamental inequities between native speakers who access the global communication network freely and non-native speakers who bear significant educational and professional costs. This imbalance demands compensatory policy interventions to achieve linguistic justice.
Purpose
Advocating for Policy Reform
Gazzola aims to challenge the widespread assumption that English dominance is an unambiguously positive phenomenon. By quantifying the hidden costs and documenting professional disadvantages faced by non-native speakers, he advocates for specific compensatory measures including linguistic taxation, modified patent protections, and policies supporting multilingual researchers in international academic contexts.
Structure
Descriptive → Analytical → Prescriptive
The article opens with observational context about English prevalence in Europe, transitions to analytical examination of learning and professional costs supported by quantitative research from François Grin and Tatsuya Amano, then concludes with prescriptive policy proposals from Philippe Van Parijs and other scholars. This progression moves from establishing the phenomenon to diagnosing problems to proposing solutions.
Tone
Measured, Critical & Solution-Oriented
Gazzola maintains an academic tone that acknowledges English’s practical benefits while systematically critiquing its inequitable effects. The writing is evidence-based rather than polemical, citing specific research to quantify costs and disadvantages. The concluding proposals are presented as provocative but serious policy options rather than definitive solutions, inviting further discussion.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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Relating to language or the study of languages; pertaining to the structure, development, or phenomena of human speech.
“The most important challenge is that of fairness or linguistic justice.”
The basis or foundation on which something is established; one’s position or status in relation to others.
“Individuals face very different costs to access the network and are on an unequal footing when using it.”
Required by law or a rule; obligatory and not optional; mandatory in nature.
“English as a foreign language is taught in schools in all EU member states, usually as a compulsory subject.”
Distributed resources or duties for a particular purpose; assigned or apportioned something to someone or something.
“This trend translates into considerable savings for the education systems of English-speaking countries, which can then be allocated to other productive public investments.”
Good at convincing someone to do or believe something through reasoning or the use of temptation; compelling.
“In most professional contexts, a person is more effective and persuasive when using their native language.”
Income generated from normal business operations or taxes collected by a government; the total amount of money received.
“This would involve establishing a global tax on countries where the majority of the population speaks English as a native language and distributing the revenue to countries where English is taught in schools.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, native English speakers in English-speaking countries are increasingly learning foreign languages to maintain global competitiveness.
2According to François Grin’s research cited in the article, what percentage of education budgets do western European countries spend on foreign language teaching?
3Which sentence best captures the author’s use of an analogy to explain the concept of linguistic justice?
4Based on the article, evaluate these statements about research conducted by Tatsuya Amano’s team:
Non-native English speakers need approximately twice as long as native speakers to read, write, or review publications in English.
The research surveyed 900 researchers working in environmental sciences.
Non-native speakers are 12.5 times more likely to have their papers rejected outright for publication.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What can be inferred about the author’s attitude toward the proposals for linguistic justice mentioned in the article?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Linguistic justice refers to fairness in language-related opportunities and costs. The concept matters because English’s global dominance creates systematic inequalities: native speakers access international communication networks without learning costs, while non-native speakers invest significant educational resources and face professional disadvantages. This asymmetry affects career opportunities, research productivity, and economic resources across nations.
Gazzola compares a common language to a telephone network where value increases with more users. The inequality arises because participants face vastly different access costs. Native English speakers essentially receive premium network access for free—like getting the latest smartphone with unlimited data at no cost—while second-language learners must invest years of education and practice to join the same network.
Research by Tatsuya Amano’s team reveals quantifiable disadvantages: non-native speakers require twice the time to read, write, or review English publications; they are 2.5 times more likely to have papers rejected for linguistic reasons; and they are 12.5 times more likely to need language-related revisions. These barriers translate into fewer publications, reduced funding opportunities, and limited career advancement despite equal technical competence.
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This article is rated Advanced. It employs sophisticated vocabulary (hegemony, compensatory, linguistic justice), presents complex economic and policy arguments, and requires readers to synthesize evidence from multiple academic sources. The text assumes familiarity with concepts like network effects, intellectual property rights, and educational policy frameworks. Advanced-level articles challenge readers to engage with nuanced reasoning and abstract theoretical frameworks.
As a lecturer in public policy and administration at Ulster University and editor of Language Problems & Language Planning journal, Gazzola brings academic expertise to public discourse on linguistic inequality. Writing for The Guardian allows him to reach a broad international audience with research findings typically confined to academic circles, making specialized policy discussions about language justice accessible to general readers who experience these inequalities but may not recognize their systemic nature.
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