It’snothingnewthatEnglishuseisontherisearoundtheworld,especiallyinbusinesscircles.ThisalsohappensinFrance,theheadquartersoftheglobalbattleagainstAmericanculturalhegemony.IfFrenchguysaregivingintoEnglish,somethingreallybigmustbegoingon.Andsomethingbigisgoingon. Partly,it’sthatAmericanhegemony.DidierBenchimol,CEOofaFrenche-commercesoftwarecompany,feelscompelledtospeakEnglishperfectlybecausetheInternetsoftwarebusinessisdominatedbyAmericans.HeandotherFrenchbusinessmenalsohavetospeak,EnglishbecausetheywanttogettheirmessageouttoAmericaninvestors,possessorsoftheworld’sdeepestpockets. ThetriumphofEnglishinFranceandelsewhereinEurope,however,mayrestonsomethingmoreenduring.Astheybecomeentwinedwitheachotherpoliticallyandeconomically,Europeansneedawaytotalktooneanotherandtotherestoftheworld.Andforanumberofreasons,they’vedecideduponEnglishastheircommontongue. SowhenGermanchemicalandpharmaceuticalcompanyHoechstmergedwithFrenchcompetitorRhone-Poulenclastyear,thecompanieschosethevaguelyLatinateAventisasthenewcompanyname—andsettledonEnglishasthecompany’scommonlanguage.WhenmonetarypolicymakersfromaroundEuropebeganmeetingattheEuropeanCentralBankinFrankfurtlastyeartosetinterestratesforthenewEuroland,theyheldtheirdeliberationsinEnglish.EventheEuropeanCommission,with11officiallanguagesandatraditionallyFrench-spiritingbureaucracy,effectivelyswitchedovertoEnglishasitsworkinglanguagelastyear. Howdidthishappen?OneschoolattributesEnglish’sgreatsuccesstothesheerweightofitsmerit.It’saGermaniclanguage,broughttoBritainaroundthefifthcentury A. D.DuringthefourcenturiesofFrench-speakingrulethatfollowedNormanConquestof1066,thelanguagemorphedintosomethingelseentirely.Frenchwordswereaddedwholesale,andmostofthecomplicationsofGermanicgrammarwereshedwhilefewofthecomplicationsofFrenchwereadded.Theresultisalanguagewithahugevocabularyandasimplegrammarthatcanexpressmostthingsmoreefficientlythaneitherofitsparents.What’smore,Englishhasremainedungovernedandopentochange—foreignwords,coinages,andgrammaticalshifts—inawaythatFrench,ruledbythepuristAcadémieFrancaise,hasnot. Soit’saswelllanguage,especiallyforbusiness.ButtheriseofEnglishoverthepastfewcenturiesclearlyowesatleastasmuchtohistoryandeconomiesastothelanguage’sabilitytoeconomicallyexpresstheconceptwin-win.Whathappenedisthatthecompetition—firstLatin,thenFrench,then,briefly,German—fadedwiththewaningofthepolitical,economic,andmilitaryfortunesof,respectively,theCatholicChurch,France,andGermany.Allalong,Englishwasincreasinginimportance:BritainwasthebirthplaceoftheIndustrialRevolution,andLondontheworld’smostimportantfinancialcenter,whichmadeEnglishakeylanguageforbusiness.England’scoloniesaroundtheworldalsomadeitthelanguagewiththemostglobalreach.AndasthatformercolonytheU.S.rosetothestatusoftheworld’spreeminentpolitical,economic,military,andculturalpower,Englishbecametheobvioussecondlanguagetolearn. Inthe1990smoreandmoreEuropeansfoundthemselvesforcedtouseEnglish.Thelastgenerationofbusinessandgovernmentleaderswhohadn’tstudiedEnglishinschoolwasleavingthestage.TheEuropeanCommunitywasaddingnewmembersandevolvingfromapaper-shufflingclubintoaseriousregionalgovernmentthatwouldneedasinglecommonlanguageifitwereevertogetanythingdone.Meanwhile,economicbarriersbetweenEuropeannationshavebeendisappearing,meaningthatmoreandmorecompaniesarebeginningtolookatthewholecontinentastheirdomesticmarket.AndthentheInternetcamealong. TheNethadtwobigimpacts.Onewasthatitwasanexciting,potentiallylucrativenewindustrythathaditsrootsintheU.S.,soifyouwantedtogetinonit,youhadtospeaksomeEnglish.TheotherwasthatbysurfingtheWeb,EuropeanswhohadpreviouslyencounteredEnglishonlyinschoolandinpopsongswerenowcomingintocontactwithitdaily. NoneofthismeansEnglishhastakenoverEuropeanlife.AccordingtotheEuropeanUnion,47%ofWesternEuropeans(includingtheBritishandIrish)speakEnglishwellenoughtocarryonaconversation.That’salotmorethanthosewhocanspeakGerman(32%)orFrench(28%),butitstillmeansmoreEuropeansdon’tspeakthelanguage.Ifyouwanttosellshampooorcellphones,youhavetodoitinFrenchorGermanorSpanishorGreek.EventheU.S.andBritishmediacompaniesthatstandtobenefitmostfromthespreadofEnglishhavebeenhedgingtheirbets—CNNbroadcastsinSpanish;the?FinancialTimes?hasrecentlylaunchedadailyGerman-languageedition. ButjustlookatwhospeaksEnglish:77%ofWesternEuropeancollegestudent,69%ofmanagers,and65%ofthoseaged15to24.InthesecondaryschoolsoftheEuropeanUnion’snon-English-speakingcountries,91%ofstudentsstudyEnglish,allofwhichmeansthatthetransitiontoEnglishasthelanguageofEuropeanbusinesshasn’tbeenallthattraumatic,andit’sonlygoingtogeteasierinthefuture. Intheauthor’sopinion,whatreallyunderliestherisingstatusofEnglishinFranceandEuropeis_____.
A.American dominance in the Internet software business B.a practical need for effective communication among Europeans C.Europeans’ eagerness to do business with American businessmen D.the recent trend for foreign companies to merge with each other正确答案B
