1

Running head: From Globish to English, The Real – Life Case Write-up 3

From Globish to English, the Real – Life Case Write-up 3

From Globish to English, the Real – Life Case Write-up 3 2

Abstract

The real-life case “From Globish toEnglish” deals with Globish introduced by Jean-Paul

Nerrière. Actually, Globishis a simplified way of global English with a basic vocabulary of 1500

wordscoupled with simplified grammatical structure specifically for global businessuse.

Presently, Globish is being increasingly superseded by English as a secondlanguage and English

is considered to be the most spoken second languageworldwide in many fields such as

international business, academics, aviation,internet, technology, etc. which Globish cannot

deliver due to limitedvocabulary and grammatical structure.

From Globish to English, the Real – Life Case Write-up 3 3

The real-life case “From Globish to English” is quite intriguing and aroused my curiosity

to explore deeper into the detail of it. I learned, “Globish” is being superseded by English as a

second language worldwide. King and Lawley said the common use of English as a second

language means in many areas of life such as international, business, English is often spoken

between non- native English speakers (2020, page 584,  para 1) and “when a Japanese employee

met a Belgian, a Chilean, and an Italian, they managed. None spoke English brilliantly but each

knew the others were making mistakes too”. (Skapinker, 2012, para. 3).

The above mentioned particular type of English was observed by Jean-Paul Nerrière, a

vice president of IBM, during his business travels and to solve the difficulties of having a

conversation in English by non- native English speakers, Mr. Nerrière created a standard a

simplified way of global English named Globish with a basic vocabulary of 1500 words and a

simplified grammatical structure specifically for global business use (King & Lawley, 2020, p.

584, para. 2). It was noted that although international communication got aid from Globish but

the Globish speakers avoid all kinds of figurative speech and never tell jokes (Trotter, 2018,

para.7). 

The most ambitious foreigners were held back because they spoke no English, but

Globish: a simple, dull, idiom-free, cripplingly accented version of English with a

small vocabulary. So they rarely sounded as fun, clever or cool in English as

native speakers. (Kuper, 2018, para. 3) andother commentators argue that it limits

the learning of English (King & Lawley, 2020, p. 584, para. 3).
From Globish to English, the Real – Life Case Write-up 3 4

  Globish has a small vocabulary and this limitation has become a major setback for the

success of Globish therefore, it has been replaced by English as a second language worldwide.

Kuper exemplifies it and says that the world’s most popular You Tuber is probably PewDiePie,

who represents the first global generation in which tens of millions of people from outside the

English-speaking world speak perfect English. (2018, para 1, 2), 

English is spoken at a useful level by some 1.75 billion people worldwide—that’s one in

every four of us”. (Neeley, 2020, para. 7). It is not only the huge number of people that is

important but also the fact that one can find people who speak English in every part of the world,

from the Americas to Asia, to Africa and Europe. And a great deal of communication today in

English is held between people who are non-native speakers. English is the common link

between many origins and cultures.  

English as a second language opens the whole world before me, it helps to know other

cultures and communicate with new friends. I learned to read, write, and speak English in school,

now I can converse with anyone in English be it traveling or studying as an international student

or engaging in international business. English is of great use and provides an advantage in my

life. Whether I need to buy prescribed medicines and groceries or navigate through a city using a

map. English definitely allows me to communicate with people both near and far, technology and

the internet complement it.

To sum up, English is a second language around the world and learning this

language can help everyone to communicate wherever human beings live and work. It

unlocks the doors to understand other cultures and builds a platform for a bright future in
From Globish to English, the Real – Life Case Write-up 3 5

academics, business, aviation, technology, internet, and day to day life which Globish

cannot deliver due to its limited vocabulary and grammatical structure.

References

King, D. & Lawley S. (2020). Organizational behaviour. Retrieved from

https://platform.virdocs.com/r/s/0/doc/718833/sp/77656693/mi/322988997?cfi=

%2F4%2F604%2F86%5Bhe-9780198807780-chapter-16-bibItem-37%5D%2C

%2F1%3A0%2C%2F1%3A0

Kuper, S. (2018).Globish just doesn't cut it anymore. Retrieved

fromhttps://www.ft.com/content/981379a8-f58f-11e7-88f7-5465a6ce1a00

Neeley, T. (2014). Global Business Speaks English. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/2012/05/global-business-speaks-english.

Skapinker, M. (2012). Executives speak a language of their own. Retrieved from

https://www.ft.com/content/634db9a6-57eb-11e1-ae89-00144feabdc0

Trotter, A. (2018). Globish – a language of international business.

Retrieved fromhttps://global-lingo.com/globish-a-language-of-international-business/.
From Globish to English, the Real – Life Case Write-up 3 6