Need help from English speaking writers
By Kowgirl
@Kowgirl (3490)
United States
June 3, 2009 10:19am CST
Which is correct?
1. English is becoming a global language.
2. English is becoming the global language.
Please give reason why.
I can not find any reference to which "a" or "the" should be used in this sentence.
It is about to drive me nuts!
Thanks for your help
3 responses
@mrbluey (36)
• Singapore
3 Jun 09
I'm certain both are right.
1. English is becoming a global language.
This is completely acceptable in grammatical standards.
This would mean English is becoming 'one of the' global language(s). Which cannot be disputed, because it is not incorrect in any way.
2. English is becoming the global language.
Though this may cause a little doubt due to it perhaps implying exclusive position of the English language as 'the' global language, this cannot be argued with either. The meaning is still there, if slightly tweaked, and grammatically, especially with no other information added, it would be a totally clean statement.
Hope I have helped!
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
3 Jun 09
Actually, BOTH statements are grammatically correct. Whether or not you would use "A" or "THE" in the sentence would all depend on the context of the writing, or the point you were trying to get across to the reader. If you were just making a random statement that people around the world are starting to speak English, using "A" in the sentence would be sufficient. However, if you were trying to make the point that English is becoming the most widely used language in the world, then you should choose to use "THE" in the statement. It would all depend on the statement you were trying to make. Hope this helps...
@Kowgirl (3490)
• United States
3 Jun 09
Thanks, I feel much better now with my decision.
Actually that was what I was thinking but for some reason it was bothering me.
So I wasn't sure whether to have them change it or not. I even asked an English professor here in Florida and he said either use could be correct. I still am leaning toward "the" as the best usage in the paragraph, since "a" denotes a language and not the language.
@Guitarpunk (738)
• United States
3 Jun 09
It should be English is becoming the global language because global language means one language the whole world speaks. So, it can't be a because then, it would be one out of many but you can only have one global language. I hope that helped. :)