ENGLISH has spread around the world “like a virus”, becoming the fastest-growing language in human history, said British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay.

He said there are close to 385 million native English speakers in countries like the US and Australia, with about a billion people in formerly colonised nations, such as India and Nigeria, fluent in the language.

Worldwide, millions have studied English as a second language, and it is spoken “at a useful level” by some 1.75 billion people, or one in every four of the global population, he said at the English Speaking Union of Malaysia (Esum) annual general meeting at his official residence in Kuala Lumpur last night.

With English being the global language of trade, he said, more and more multinational companies are choosing it as the “common corporate language” to facilitate communication across geographically diverse functions and business endeavours.

“Board meetings will very often be in English, even though the company might not be from an English-speaking country or none of the participants is a native speaker.”

Hay said English proficiency is key to securing good jobs.

“Statistics show that up to a quarter of graduates end up unemployed, with poor command of English being the main reason…. And, 70% of CEOs in a study said their workforce will need to master English, and a quarter of them said more than 50% of their workforce will need English ability.”

Although English is not hard to pick up, it is also the easiest language “to learn to speak badly”, he said.

“English is a rich and beautiful language, not least because Britain had been conquered by Vikings and Normans, and has happily been open to foreign influence throughout its history. We know more of its wonderful rare words because English has been written for more than 1,000 years, and its many dialects are well described.”

Esum chairman Tunku Dara Naquiah Tuanku Ja’afar said numerous activities, including public-speaking and essay-writing competitions, are held year-round to promote the use of English among Malaysians. – Bernama, November 27, 2019.