ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 focuses on the hypercentral role of English in the world.
English has developed into the most widely used language in the world, a fact no one could have expected. English may be the new Latin, but – unlike Latin – English is used in all layers of society. Its current position may be challenged by Chinese, but the supremacy of English may last for some time. While US and UK English (the ‘inner circle’) are dominant, other varieties are gaining prestige too (e.g. Scandinavian English).
English is the most dominant language in the world today, but it is not dominant everywhere. The dominance of English is discussed in the following domains: the internet, books, films, and in Snow White.
International business and politics were quick to adopt English as a lingua franca, but higher education followed suit much later. Higher education has become a lucrative business all over the world, which mainly benefits the US and the UK. In Europe, English-medium instruction is more common in the north than in the south, but its use is not undisputed.
