Amglish In, Like, Ten Easy Lessons_ A Celebration of the New World Lingo - Arthur E. Rowse [48]
In order to answer Bush’s question, the government launched opinion polls in many parts of the world. Results showed anti-Americanism running deep in many areas. It ranged from disdain for U.S. culture as depicted on TV and in movies to dislike of government policies, particularly those involving Israel and the Palestinians, a subject often at the top of the list of international sore spots.
In response to the polls, the government chose to sidestep any possibility of reviewing or changing policies but instead launched a massive advertising campaign featuring positive images of Muslim life in the United States. However, after several countries refused to broadcast the ads and others found it ineffective, the program was canceled.
CONFLICTING MESSAGES
American businesses took the polls more to heart than average Americans did. Firms with connections overseas began to redesign their logos in order to play down the U.S. angles. The object was to save Brand America from having to retrench or rebrand itself.
But it soon became clear that the ominous signs for U.S. brands outside the country had been overstated. A 2003 survey of 105 international students at Regent’s College, London, by Jami A. Fullerton of the University of North Texas agreed with a Fortune magazine article in 2003 that “the death of Brand America has been widely exaggerated.” Fullerton also found that the students liked U.S. television, movies, and music but did not like America in general.42
Had it finally become smart for young people abroad to reject what their parents had considered smart now that America had become a world-class punching bag? The fact is that anti-Americanism has existed as long as America has. Britain and France are the historical witnesses to that.
FRANCHISES DEFY THE TREND
But the continued expansion and prosperity of American franchises overseas clearly demonstrate that the negative feelings about U.S. policies simply don’t apply to them or their products, especially not the language that surrounds them.
American franchise operations have continued to expand internationally even while some have been retrenching at home, according to a 2009 report by Richard Gibson.43 He reported that McDonald’s had opened 286 units abroad in the most recent seven months compared to only 53 domestically during a period of tight credit.
“For overseas investors,” he added, “big U.S. chains are attractive because of their brand recognition and proven profit potential. That, in turn, makes it easier to sell individual franchises in a foreign country.”
To prove the point, Gibson said that Subway had opened 1,432 locations abroad in the previous five years, 202 more than were opened in the United States. And a unit of Doctor’s Associates Inc. had nearly doubled its overseas presence to 8,817 outlets. Meanwhile, Curves International, a women’s fitness center, had opened 612 locations abroad in a year and a half, compared to only 19 in the U.S. and Canada.
The message from abroad to Americans at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century seemed to be, “We don’t like your international policies, but we love your Big Macs, smart phones, movies, and especially your lingo.”
Amglish doesn’t need any promotional or advertising help.
WILL ENGLISH DOOM ITSELF?
The more the language spreads, the more some observers worry about its ultimate fate. A book published in 2010 refers to today’s international English as The Last Lingua Franca: English until the Return of Babel.44 Its first line reads, “The decline of English, when it begins, will not seem of great moment.” The British author, Nicholas Ostler, argues