and it's a tricky question to answer

because popular belief is that it is

something to do with the language - I used to spend a lot of time once in the 1980s doing a

radio 4 series for the BBC

called "English now" and each week we would

have a different topic and I would go out onto the street with my roving

microphone

and get some vox pops as they call them

on the BBC vox populi the voice of the public

and one day we were doing global English so I'm out on the street now

and I'm asking people - do you know that English is a global language

universal answer yes - Can you tell me

why - why do you think sir / madame English has become a global language in

here are the commonest

answers and you will perhaps

be surprised - i don't know - the commonest answer

is because - it's obvious! - English is the most beautiful language in the world

and so people want to learn it isn't that obvious?

I knew it was wrong

because I know that Welsh is the most beautiful language in the world

did I tell you I came from Wales? I did, didn't I- you know it's Slovak

the point is it's a pointless question

but people do believe it - the second answer

second commonest answer - you'll love this one large

gentleman florid face big moustache came towards me

Sir, do you know why English is a global language? yes yes young man

young man - love him

love him already I'll tell you why English is a global language

because it hasn't got any grammar!

I told you you'd like that one- I nearly fell off

my microphone I I I said you know what what you what you mean?

and he says I'll tell you I'll tell you because when I was at school

I had to learn these foreign languages I learnt French with all that

stupid masculine and feminine stuff and then

German with that stupid neuter stuff and all these

endings, this nominative and accusative and

oh, ridiculous! English hasn't got any of that -

so it hasn't got any grammar!

you see the logic - what he's

doing of course is he's identifying grammar

with morphology word endings - which

English hasn't got many of - I mean there are a few

you know - a dozen or so as you know but English is not big on word endings

but of course what it hasn't got on word endings

it makes up for in word order - so syntax

is the big problem for any language learner for English

how much syntax is there English? well

go to the big comprehensive grammar of the English language by Randolph Quirk

and his colleagues which is that thick, isn't it - eighteen hundred pages

2.4 kilograms - that's how much syntax there is in English

2.4 kilos of it!