A global language pertains to a language that is widely spoken and learned by many people. To be considered a global language, it has to be spoken internationally and acquired as a second language. It must also be recognized as the language used when dealing with organizations all over the world and when communicating with other nations. Among these languages are English and Russian, which are considered as two of the major languages in the world today.
Both languages belong to the Indo-European languages, which is why there are similarities between the two languages. While Russian uses Cyrillic alphabet, it has influences of the Slavonic language that is commonly used in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. On the other hand, English has traces of its German and Dutch origins. Many of the English words were also borrowed from vocabulary coming from Latin, Greek, and French (Turner). Russian has 33 letters in the alphabet ("Russian Alphabet"), whereas, the English language has 26 letters. Both languages have almost the same number of consonants, that is, 20 for the Russian language, and 21 for the English language, although some letters produce different sounds. Some letters are also the same such as "A", "B", "C", "O", and "T" ("Russian Alphabet").
In terms of differences, both languages vary in their approach when it comes to grammar composition. English depends mainly on how words are ordered within the sentence as it uses Subject-Predicate-Object composition, as well as use of auxiliaries and articles. For instance, in the English language, a complete sentence will include the articles "a" or "an", such as, "I saw an elephant outside." In Russian, the sentence would read as, "I saw elephant outside." However, the Russian language expresses sentences through transformations in word composition. Typically, this is articulated by changing the inflection in sentences or by adding suffixes or prefixes ("The Differences between English and Russian").
Because the Russian alphabet has only five vowel sounds, it becomes more difficult for them learn the English language, which is consisted of 12 vowel sounds and eight diphthongs. Another cause of difficulty is that the Russian vowels have no differentiation when it comes to long and short vowels, unlike the English vowels, which has five long and seven short vowel sounds. Because of this, distinguishing between words such as "sat / set or sit / seat" ("The Differences between English and Russian") is tricky. When speaking, Russians also tend to ask questions using a falling intonation, whereas, in English, questions are asked in rising intonation ("The Differences between English and Russian").
Another difference is the rules that both languages follow when it comes to capitalization. In the English language, proper nouns are always capitalized. However, in Russian, days of the week, names of months, and nationalities, among others are not capitalized. Words that come after the first word of a "title, holiday, or organization" ("Russian Alphabet") are not capitalized as well. Lastly, when using the first person singular within a sentence, it is written in small letters. The only instance it is written in capitalized format is when it is the first word in a sentence ("Russian Alphabet").
Despite English being the globally accepted language, other languages such as Russian is slowly becoming a global language considering that is now "one of the official languages of the UN Security Council" (Guseinov).
Works Cited
Guseinov, Gasan. "Russian Language Changes as It Goes Global." Russia Beyond the Headlines. 19 November 2010. Web. 18 August 2013. <http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/11/19/russian_changes_as_it_goes_global05132.html>.
"Russian Alphabet." Learn-Russia.com. n.d. Web. 18 August 2013. <http://www.learn-russia.com/lessons/alphabet.php>.
"The Differences between English and Russian." A Guide to Learning English. n.d. Web. 18 August 2013. <http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/russian.htm>.
Turner, Rachel. "How to Teach English to Russian Students." E-How. n.d. Web. 17 August 2013. <http://www.ehow.com/how_7953601_teach-english-russian-students.html>.
