We are all Americans now
A recent survey published in “The European” newspaper reported that the majority of Europeans do not approve of the ever-increasing influence of American culture. The American way of life is now everywhere and exerts a magnetic influence on young and old in countries as far apart as China and Argentina. Many Europeans worry that their own culture will be swamped by inferior American products. Hollywood is one example: about 75% of all feature films seen in Europe are American in origin and the European film industry faces the threat of extinction.
English has also crept into everyday use in many countries alongside their own language. The language which most people use when they make contact with other nationalities is English: when a Chinese person meets someone from Spain, they will probably speak in English. English is the international language of communication, and is spoken by about 800 million people all over the world. It is also the language of science, business and advertising. So even though they have only 5% of the world’s population, the Americans have managed to get everyone to speak their language.
Modern communications from the jet to the Internet have brought us all closer together. Many English (or American) words are in common use: cool, sorry, goodbye, basketball and so on. In France, where the older generation objects to the influence of English, they have given this phenomenon a name “Fraglais” and in Latin America they talk of “Spanglish”.
Amongst the younger generation, American music is an essential feature of youth culture. Young people in Latin America have accepted a universal, popular culture in which Latin rhythms and Spanglish combine with American songs, words and images. A lot of young people welcome this media invasion from the north, in spite of warnings from some academics that Latin America risk losing their identity. Jorge Asis, a respected Argentine author, lost his job as Minister of Culture when he suggested it was time to discuss the use of English words in advertising.
The use of English naturally brings it American culture, which influences our lifestyle from food to fashion. An obvious example is McDonalds, the fast food chain. There are now approximately 18500 McDonalds’ restaurants in 93 countries. Coca Cola is available not only in all McDonalds’ restaurants but 80% of all sales of Coca Cola are sold outside the United States.
All this confirms that the world has indeed has become a global village. The chief of the village is the American President and the village hall is the White House. The village policeman wears an American uniform and tries to keep the peace between neighbours. If one city has to be chosen as the world’s capital, it would undoubtedly be New York.