In this age of change, English as a global lingua franca facilitates cross-cultural communication. As a result, several languages die out each year, which is not important in some people’s opinion because life will be easier with fewer languages. However, I disagree with this idea.
The disappearance of lesser-known languages leads to a range of issues. First of all, the expansion of English erodes the cultural identity of other races. More specifically, the prevalence of English can aggravate the sense of cultural inferiority among speakers of other languages. In the second place, the disappearance of other languages causes the loss of other cultures. For instance, Latin is already a dead language now because nearly nobody can speak this language in the world at the moment; therefore, the culture which backs up Latin is also lost. Finally, loss of cultures could result in loss of heritage such as traditional values.
For example, some cultures highly value family and education; consequently, if those cultures are lost, many important and beneficial values will also be rendered obsolete, which is not helpful. Granted, life can be easier if people speak fewer languages in contemporary society. Nevertheless, translators and interpreters will lose their jobs if more and more languages disappear – this is not good for global economy. Therefore, it is clear that more languages generate more employment opportunities.
In conclusion, although English as a universal language enables cross-cultural communication, the importance of other languages should not be ignored. As a consequence, I would assert that languages other than English must be respected, protected and preserved