Why did English become the ‘global language’?

English is the international language of business, commerce, science, medicine, and many other key areas. Even in diplomacy, where French once ruled supreme, English is now dominant in most regions of the world.

According to David Graddol’s extensive survey for the British Council, the number of non-native or second language speakers of English now outnumbers those of primary or native speakers.

International tourism is growing, but the proportion of encounters involving a native English speaker is declining. There were around 763 million international travellers in 2004, but nearly 75% of visits involved visitors from a non-English-speaking country travelling to a non-English-speaking destination. This demonstrates the … growing role for global English.

Increasingly, non native speakers use English as a “practical tool” and also as a “working language”. It has emerged as a lingua franca used by millions of people to engage in a conversation with each other.

[medium.com].