Abstract: Coincident with the swift process of economic globalization is the more and more prominent superiority of the western developed countries. For the rest of the world, to integrate into the world economy, which is now dominated by some western powers, especially the superpower America, to learn English and English cultures seems to be the only choice. As English has grown into the world language, its ruling and controlling status appears unshakable, hence English hegemony. It is defined as the fact or phenomenon that the English language has attained the position of dominance over other languages. This study, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, aims to explore the nature of this phenomenon in three aspects. Firstly, it details the evidence of English hegemony in two aspects: the soaring population of English-using people and the extensive application of English in almost every aspect of social life. Secondly, it analyzes the causes of English hegemony, focusing on the powerful comprehensive strength of English-speaking countries. At the end of the study, the impacts of English hegemony on both English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries are discussed, with that on China’s current situation spotlighted.
Key words: globalization; English hegemony; linguistic future
摘要：随着经济全球化进程的加快，西方发达国家的强势越来越凸显。对于其他国家来说，要想融入目前的世界经济体系，学习英语和英语文化似乎成了唯一的选择，英语霸权也由此形成。所谓英语霸权是指英语语言已在世界语言中占据主导或统治地位这一事实或现象。本文结合定量和定性分析两种方法从三个主要方面对英语霸权这一现象本身进行了较为详尽的论述，包括表现形式：英语使用人数之庞大和应用范围之广泛；成因：英语语言本身的结构特点和西方国家尤其是美国在经济，政治，科技和文化等方面的综合实力的强大对英语霸权的推动和巩固；影响：对英语国家的影响，对非英语国家的影响，其中后者又聚焦英语霸权对中国的影响。最后论及中国在面对英语强势时应该扮演的角色。
关键词：全球化；英语霸权；语言未来
