what do airbus,nokia and rwanda have in common?整

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English as lingua franca

What do Airbus, Nokia and Rwanda have in common? They all regard English as
their preferred language, writes Michael Skapinker. As a European aircraft
manufacturer with French, German, British and Spanish roots, Airbus has always
used English as its common language. Nokia, the mobile phone maker based in
Finland, uses the language as its gateway to the world. And Rwanda has adopted
English as an official language and promotes its use in its education
system.

There have been languages before that have been widely spoken. In his book
The Last Lingua Franca, Nicholas Ostler writes that in 100AD a traveller could
go from Spain to the Hindu Kush speaking Greek all the way. But no language has
ever been spoken in as many places as English is today.

When a Brazilian meets a German, they will almost certainly speak to each
other in English. In business conferences from Berlin to S?o Paulo, it is taken
for granted that speeches will be in English. In many sectors, such as banking
and management consultancy, it would be impossible to rise to the top without
fluent English.

Such is English’s importance in business that those who speak it can earn
significantly more. A British Council report, The Benefits of the English
Language for Individuals and Societies: Quantitative Indicators from Cameroon,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Bangladesh and Pakistan, found English speakers in those
countries earned 25 per cent more than colleagues who didn’t speak the language.
In Rwanda, in some jobs the difference was 181 per cent.

Does this mean native English speakers can expect to get the best jobs? Not
necessarily. First, they are more likely to be monoglot – to speak no languages
other than English. Non-native English-speaking business high-flyers can manage
in both English and their own language, which is helpful in dealing with local
customers.

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