[SEJeff]

You know that the English language doesn't originate in America, right? Equating the spread of English as a step in the Americanization of the world (to me) is a bit silly.

I can reword your statement to use Spanish and Peru. It sounds just as weird:

    I see the spread of the Spanish language a step in the Peruvianization of the world, which is a shame.

In America, we speak all kinds of languages, of which English is the most common.

[CamelCaseName]

America is influenced by the Spanish language, but that is because it imports Mexican culture, not Peruvian.

Iceland (I assume) imports far more American culture than British. They simply dominate many forms of art (TV, movies, games). So while you are right that America is not the birthplace of English, English is the medium in which American culture spreads.

[powercf]

> You know that the English language doesn't originate in America, right?

Of course, but it's not relevent.

> I see the spread of the Spanish language a step in the Peruvianization of the world, which is a shame.

Peru isn't driver of Spanish-speaking culture the way the US is the driver of English-speaking culture.

TV shows, music, film, technology news and discussion websites, …. Most are US-made, and go hand in hand with the spread of the English language. An English lerner in ${X} will watch Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Spiderman, … (all in English, maybe with suptitles), will listen to Rhianna, Eminem, …, and will talk about "Performance", "Data Center" or use other English loanwords (if working with technology at least). It's obvious to me enough exposure to US culture does lead to a US way of thinking.

[ascorbic]

They'll also probably listen to Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Adele, watch Top Gear, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, Bake Off, read Harry Potter. The US might be dominant, but it's the English language that's the global hegemon.

[SEJeff]

This so much! This was literally my point! The English language != America, and I say this as a born and bred (slightly unhappy with our buffoon in chief) American.

[_emacsomancer_]

There are an awful lot of English-native and English-speaking Commonwealth countries (including the UK itself) which have non-negligible influence, including on the US.

[notahacker]

Hell, us Brits even get to apologise to the US for selling them the TV-show format that got their president elected ;-)

[adventured]

American cultural projection and economic success in the 20th century is overwhelmingly responsible for spreading the English language to so many corners of the globe. The British Empire collapsed and retracted back to the UK. Britain's global cultural projection is a small fraction of the US today. If eg Britain were the primary driver of English since WW2, as the first major sponsors of the language, you'd more likely see a contraction in English in line with the contraction of the British Empire and their cultural + economic reach. Instead English has continued to spread.

People in China haven't been aggressively learning English the last ~30 years primarily so they can do business with New Zealand. English become the global language of commerce because the US took over nearly half of the global economy, and over half of its manufacturing, immediately after WW2.

It's pretty simple: the British started that fire, then their empire declined. The US picked up their torch and made the fire a lot bigger with the wide-spread globalization we see today coinciding with the US becoming the sole superpower post WW2 (ie produced a perfect storm for English spreading globally).

[notahacker]

I'm not sure English would have "retracted back to the UK" even if the US spoke Navajo as its preferred language. It's not realistic expectations of doing business with the US or watching Hollywood instead of Bollywood that explains why English became the alternative to Hindu dominance of language in Indian education, commerce and civil service. The much earlier decline of Spanish colonial influence didn't diminish the pervasiveness of its language in certain parts of the world (most where English is seldom spoken) in any meaningful way, and there really aren't any obvious corners of the globe English hadn't already spread to some extent before American cultural influence kicked in.

There's a reason why people haven't been aggressively learning Chinese despite it being the language of the world's #2 economic power, and that's because all the boots on the ground work to set up civil services, education systems and trade networks and associate their language with prestige and power had already been done by colonialists speaking other languages.

[ardfie]

The United States is the biggest exporter of English-language media. In other English speaking countries American terms and idioms are increasingly common.

[wyclif]

I'm in the Philippines now, and the irony for me, as an American, is that English is not an official language in the USA, yet in the Philippines it is (along with Filipino).