Un plan d'essai et son introduction

Plan. I. Historically, English spread with British and then American power: empire, decolonisation and the post-1945 order made it a global language. II. But most of its speakers are now outside the inner circle: India, Nigeria and the expanding circle shape the language through World Englishes and its use as a lingua franca. III. English has become a common good, yet not a neutral one: native speakers keep an advantage, and its spread raises questions of linguistic diversity.

Introduction (environ 120 mots) : When a Brazilian engineer and a Japanese client negotiate a contract, they will probably do it in English, and neither of them will think of London or Washington. English owes its global reach to two successive empires, the British and then the American, but the people who use it most are no longer their citizens. In India, it coexists with Hindi as a language of power; in Nigeria, it is the official language of a country of about 233 million people. The linguist Braj Kachru described this shift with his three circles. This essay will argue that English has become a common good that no nation owns, but that this common good is not neutral: it still favours those who were born into it.

Ce qui fait la note : une amorce concrète, deux exemples hors du cercle intérieur avec un chiffre sourcé (Banque mondiale), une référence précise (Kachru), une thèse nuancée.