Reader’s Guide to Reshma Sharma’s Essay, “The New Language Landscape”

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Analytical Summary
In her piece "The New Language Landscape," Reshma Sharma outlines a trend that is becoming prevalent as people are adopting English while reducing the use of their native languages. According to Sharma's essay, English is increasingly becoming a universal language commonly utilized in many households, educational institutions, cities, and workplaces. Sharma discusses several factors contributing to English's current dominance as the primary language of communication. In this piece, Sharma aims to use her research to educate her audience on how children are losing touch with their mother tongue and native languages. Sharma employs techniques like examples and scales as scoring systems to persuade readers about her arguments. She points out that due to globalization, the rates of intercultural and interregional marriages have dramatically increased worldwide (Sharma, 2012). She interviewed Indian citizens to get their opinions because they know firsthand how English has impacted their lives. For example, Chaitra Kran explains why she chose to teach her children English. She says, "We see children are not able to understand anything if they are not fluent in this language, and somehow it has become the commonly spoken language in activity centers, play areas, in upscale apartments, and so on." (Sharma, 2012). Personally, I think this method strengthens the writer's ethos because it allows her to support her claims with real-life examples and experiences. In Sharma's essay, she discusses parents, parenting, and children, using the family unit as a scale. She focuses on small-scale Indian families and their day-to-day lives to am...