Communicating across borders: Why English?
In addition to my mother tongue, English is my language too. Having graduated in English in 1982 and planning to start my own communication consultancy firm, I was told by experts that in a world of globalisation, English would not be the only foreign language to be used by Danes when working outside their borders. Spanish, German and French would be as important and get the same attention as would English. The experts were wrong. While German, French and Spanish are undeniably representative of enormous cultural and demographic domains, these languages have become truly ‘foreign’ in Denmark. Sadly, one might say, languages other than English have been reduced to minor subjects at schools, or they have disappeared entirely. Efforts are made to remedy this language deficit: campaigns are arranged, language societies evolve and slogans are made: ‘We lose business opportunities in Germany if we don’t master German’; ‘French is the gate to understanding French culture’, and ‘Spanish represents an entire continent’. And yet, in spite of these powerful statements, English prevails as the Danes’ first foreign language.
“Communicating across borders using English as a second language” – book to be published this autumn.
GlobalDenmark 