Critical Review of David Crystal’s English as a Global Language

姬慧梅

David Crystal is one of the worlds foremost authorities on language.He is perhaps best known for his two encyclopedias for CambridgeUniversity Press： the hugely successful Cambridge encyclopedia oflanguage （1987； 1997） and Cambridge encyclopedia of the Englishlanguage （1995）. As an internationally renowned writer， journal editor，linguist， lecturer and broadcaster， he received an OBE （Officer of theOrder of the British Empire） in 1995 for his services to the study andteaching of the English language.

In the first chapter， Crystal explores why English is a global language.He argues that there is a clear link between English the global languageand economic， technological and political power. In his case of English，the position of the language established by the might of the British Empirewould not have been maintained were it not for the rise of Americaneconomic power bolstered by the development of technology.

In the second chapter， Crystal provides a fascinating account of thehistorical reasons for the choice of English as a global language. He traces，with a wealth of detail， the spread of English from Elizabethan times to thepresent day， and describes the spread of English to Australia， New Zealand，South Africa， Southeast Asia and the former colonies in Africa. Thechapter closes with an overview of English in the world， based on BrajKachrus three circles—the inner circle， the outer circle and the expandingcircle.