Human beings are social animals and require communication for their existence. Evolution of language is nothing but the outcome of this social urge. Language is a distinguishing characteristic that unites men around the globe. Thousands of words can be constructed from handful of sounds, a phenomenon which is described as duality by linguists.
The word exchange has been applied by many economists to explain and link a variety of phenomenon such as working of market, pattern of trade to many seemingly non economic aspects of human behavior. Trade always existed in the society in one form or the other but the expansion and sustains of this trade has been possible only through effective and efficient communication.
Britishers came to India with the idea of trade. But as we know one thing leads to another, trading eventually got them into establishing territorial control over our land. They realized it soon that expansion and sustenance of their trade is only possible through control on the communication system with the public. The introduction of education in English language by Lord Macaulay is the outcome of this deep-rooted thought.
Economist Friedrich Von Hayek has repeatedly stressed that language is an example of 'spontaneous order' that is , it was not created purposely. He stressed that emergence of language is connected with another exchange-friendly institution, - money. AC economy essentially requires an Input and production function to have an output words( inputs ) , with a chosen set of rules known as grammar ( production function), leads to an effective communication ( output ).
Marshak in his paper in 1965, has pointed out that the language has economic characteristics such as value, utility, costs and benefit. He stressed that there is a close relationship between the exploration of language optimization and economics and it is an indispensable tool in human economic activities. Weiguo Zhang and Gilles Grenier, in their paper "how can language be linked to economics" - a survey of two strands of research , have also reiterated the above facts.
With the globalization of world economy, communication among people is becoming increasingly important. The use of a language that is understood by sufficiently large number of people is needed to further the economic activities. To learn such a language is an investment in human capital that brings economic benefits. For people in emerging economies such as Russia, China and Brazil, where English is not an official language, good English has become a critical tool. Moreover, people are being led into believing that this would help them tap into better opportunities in all aspects, at home and abroad.
A paper on 'the link between English and Economics', posted by the World Economic Forum, confirmed that almost everyone of the 60 countries and territories surveyed, a rise in English proficiency was connected with a rise in per capita income. Moreover, job seekers with a better proficiency in English language, have shown to be earning 30 -50 percent higher salaries.
The interaction between English and Economics developed a virtuous cycle as in improving skill development in language drives up salaries which in turn give people and the government more money to invest in language training. For business leaders, knowing which countries are investing in and improving in English gives valuable insight into the fact that how well is a country fitting into the global marketplace. It even helps design their company's strategy. In developing economies, the transition from agriculture or manufacturing to a knowledge-based economy requires not only technological infrastructure but skilled workers who have the capability to sell their services internationally. It takes time to develop a workforce with strong English skills , but multinational companies are increasingly convinced of its necessity.
We have many issues to ponder upon, but language is a worthy subject of economic analysis, because as many economists emphasize, that knowing a language understood by masses is not just a luxury now , rather it is sina qua of global business today.