Reflections on Multiculturalism under the Worldwide Spread of English

The paper begins with expounding the close relationship between language and culture,revealing the general rule of the threat to the dominated language and culture posed by the dominant.Then couched in the theoretical framework of world englishes put forward by American linguist Kachru,the paper examines the situation of minority languages and cultures in the inner,outlying and expanding circles of countries.The findings are that in whatever above mentioned countries where English is being used and taught the minority languages and their identity of cultures are endangered by the worldwide spread of English.It is stressed in the end that the globalization of English means for many countries economic,scientific and technological development at the expense of the loss of their cultural identity,so equal emphasis must also be placed on their own languages and cultures.