English is widely spoken because it was the colonial language enforced at the highest levels of society. This is still true today and is currently a primary plank in the political platform of US conservatives.
There are libraries of books written solely on this subject. Your bizarre hypothesis ignores this and instead points to slavery and trade. More to the point, there are new articles on how English was enforced on subjugated people published on an almost weekly basis. Last week, the article I read on this topic was about how indigenous orphans were prohibited from using their native language and forced to use only English. But let’s talk about glowing myths about trade and slavery instead which have literally nothing to do with it.
"During the period of colonization…Maori were banned from speaking their native language in public places including schools, and forced to speak the foreign language of English…Maori were deprived…of their language, but also of the dimensions of culture and history inherent in language customers and worldview."
That was true of indigenous people all over the world who were forced to learn English to trade. It doesn’t change the fact that English went global because of colonization, not because of trade. The trading happened because of colonization. This is the subject of numerous studies. William Cronon’s "Changes in the Land" documents exactly this scenario with the indigenous population of New England and painstakingly recounts how colonization led to trade, decade by decade, century by century. Your argument makes zero sense and is one of the strangest claims I’ve ever seen. The Māori of New Zealand primarily learned to read and write English not from trade, but from Christian settlements. (Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand) Christian missionaries were the leading edge and primary agents of European colonialism. Attributing the wide adoption of the English language to trade is historical revisionism on a grand scale.
> English as we know it today came to be exported to other parts of the world through British colonisation…The efforts of English-speaking Christian missionaries have resulted in English becoming a second language for many other groups.
It’s interesting that English only became the primary global language after British empire had already collapsed…
Also the British subjugation native populations and forcing to speak English doesn’t really explain its prominence outside of a some areas like Indian and parts of Africa.
Why do you think an irreversible binomial employed as a thought-terminating cliché in the form of an argumentum ergo decedo is an appropriate response?
We've banned this account for using HN primarily for ideological battle and ignoring our request to stop. Regardless of what you're battling for or against, this is not what HN is for, and destroys what it is for.
If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future. They're here: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
1. Could be worse, could be constant false accusations (as per your responses). You are more than welcome to paste any denial of colonialism.
2. You have not offered anything close to a reasoned argument, and then you complain that you haven't received one back.
3. I have said before, and I am quite happy to reiterate, because you have nothing to offer here, and I am very VERY happy if I never hear from you again. (Although I doubt you will stop, you are getting the attention you seem to want)
4. Finally, also, please fix your state of denial, and, can I strongly recommend that you stop looking to books for the effects of colonialism, when you are dealing with people that have actually experienced it, and continue to experience its effects.
Please stop posting flamewar comments and/or using HN for ideological battle. Regardless of what you're battling for or against, this is not what HN is for, and destroys what it is for.
I'm not going to ban you right now because this doesn't seem to be what you've primarily been using HN for, but your comments in this thread were not ok.
I've merely pointed out that it is widespread and that there are (at least) three reasons for people to speak it.
Edit: Note, if you don't wish to speak it, that's fine by me - I'll be just as happy to not hear from you again :-)