Post by Rosy Abruzzo, journalist, presenter and social media specialist. She collaborates with various online newspapers and teaches law –
In an increasingly globalized world, effective communication between people of different cultures and nationalities is essential. English has established itself as the international lingua franca, but its complexity can hinder mutual understanding. This is where Globish comes into play, a simplified version of English that aims to facilitate communication on a global level and which is spreading inexorably in the world of social media, travel, business and wherever there is a need to speed up and simplify interactions.
What is Globish?
The term Globish is a neologism coined by French Jean-Paul Nerrière in 1998, which comes from the fusion of the words “global” and “English” and refers to a variety of English that relies on reduced vocabulary and grammar.
Nerrière, an IBM software engineer considered the father of Globish, was the first to notice how in international conferences oriental businessmen were able to speak with Korean and Japanese clients and make themselves understood in English much easier than when the conversation it happened with American or English leaders.
Author of several books on the subject, including “Le Globish: l’anglais qui va à l’essentiel” (1997) and “Parlez Globish!” (2009), Nerrière, is a strong advocate of Globish as a tool to facilitate intercultural communication and promote mutual understanding.
The Italian is of the same opinion Monica Perna, Globish expert English Coach and author of the book in 2023 I speak Globishconsidered the heir of Nerrière for the numerous studies conducted in the last 4 years on the mechanisms and diffusion of what defines the language of the future on a global scale.
Globish, according to the trainer originally from Brianza, focuses on the most common and simple words and phrases of English, making it accessible to people with a non-native level and is particularly used especially among businessmen and expats. The rapid spread of this global English, according to Perna, is due to the greater simplicity of the language that characterizes it and to the experiential nature of learning, that is, to the fact that there are no rigid rules to learn or books to study but a direct approach with the language that quickly allows those who use it to communicate and make themselves understood. It is not, in fact, a formally constructed language, but rather a organic dialect that constantly adapts, emerging exclusively from practical use.
How does Globish work?
Globish is based on a few key principles:
- – Reduced vocabulary:Globish’s vocabulary is limited to around 1,500 words, the most common and frequent in everyday English.
- – Simplified grammar:Globish grammatical rules are simplified because complex and archaic forms are eliminated.
- – Clear syntax:sentences in Globish are short and direct, with a simple and understandable structure.
- – Standard pronunciation:Globish pronunciation is based on the international accent of English, making it easier for people of different nationalities to understand.
The conference dedicated specific in-depth analysis to these aspects and to the linguistic phenomenon in its complexity Education 2.0held last March 18 in Las Vegas. In this context, considered one of the most internationally important events in the world of training, the Italian Globish scholar, Monica Perna, was the moderator of a Panel Discussion in which he faced, in comparison with 5 other experts from the world of American and Canadian training, the concept of Globish today and how this changes and spreads, receiving among other things for his study and dissemination of Globish, the “Outstanding Organization Award 2024”.
Simplified English is confirmed to coincide, among other things, with that particular type of language spoken today in the world of influencers and social media, travel and business, the spread of which appears unstoppable. Naturally, there is no shortage of criticism from some linguists who consider Globish to be an impoverished version of English.
According to TrueNum3rs only 19.7% of young Italians know how to speak English
Not only that, speakers and supporters of the so-called “neutral languages” (such as Esperanto) suspect Globish of “imperialism” or that it wants to spread a single language and a single culture to the detriment of others. It is also contested that Nerrière holds the rights to the relevant trademark he registered. But the criticisms also concern the unclear pronunciation in which the high number of consonants (24), vowels (12) and diphthongs (10) that characterize the English of native speakers are almost completely sacrificed. Finally, it is no mystery that Globish is not well accepted by native English speakers since, due to its extremely simplifying structure of the English lexicon, it requires a native speaker to make an effort to remember which words or rules to “forget” every time one switches to globish.
Spread of Globish
Despite criticism from some intellectuals, Globish is used by a growing number of people around the world. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 billion people are able to communicate in Globish, even if they do not have complete command of English. In fact, only of these 400 million people I am a native speaker. This means that 74% of the world’s population uses English as lingua francaor as a means of intercultural communication and to do so it uses this easy-to-understand linguistic variant, which avoids misunderstandings and figurative expressions and considerably simplifies the approach to conversation.
This simplified version of Anglo-American English it is based on the 1,500 most used words in the language and on immediately understandable grammatical structures. More than a language – explains Perna – it is a real communication tool ‘The international dialect of the third millennium’ today spoken by about 80% of the world population.
Source Globish The World Over – YouTube by Jean-Paul Nerrière
Due to its accessibility, Globish is particularly widespread in: multinational companies that use it as the official language of communication, facilitating collaboration between employees of different nationalities, International organizations such as the UN and the European Union, where it is used to facilitate communication between representatives of different nations but also in some educational institutions to facilitate the teaching of English to students with a basic level.
Globish represents in all respects an alternative to standard English for international communication and therefore an effective response to the challenges of global communication. Its simplicity and accessibility, although there is no shortage of criticism of its minimalist structure, make it a tool to facilitate communication between people of different cultures and nationalities. It is therefore likely that the Globish linguistic phenomenon will continue to spread in the globalized world, opening up new opportunities for interaction and collaboration.
