The importance of Barack Obama in America's society

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961. His father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas, and he was born in Hawaii, raised with the help of his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

Although he has humble origins and African roots, he was given a chance to graduate from Harvard Law School, one of the most selective and distinguished schools, before ascending to the position of the USA presidential candidate.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008. Besides, he was the first African-American president ever in human history, which is an extraordinary achievement.

The election of Obama represents the merits of American democracy, in a society deeply characterized by slavery and prejudice. He recruited to his candidacy voters of all stripes: black, white, Hispanic, southerners and northerners, educated and non-educated, the politically engaged and those who had previously stayed on the sidelines, which means that Americans placed their faith in Obama and turned their backs to the past.

Right after he was elected, he made a victory speech in which he conveyed a message to all the American people. In that speech he talks about a woman, Ann Nixon Cooper, who was 106 years old at that time (she has already died) and who hadn't been able to vote for several years just because of the color of her skin and to the fact that she was a woman.

But now things are different and she has seen America being through several changes during the last century.

The whole speech is all about hope and faith, and although there have been progresses, Obama says "there is so much more to do". He holds a promise of uniting the country to bring all the races together and to look toward a common future, and finally begin the healing process that centuries of discrimination and oppression have inflicted.

Obama was a unique candidate who faced a new American electorate. Also, the times in which we live played a huge role in his election. Obama made himself the candidate of change just at the right moment.

In my opinion, this human dimension of his triumph is more important than the details of his election program. This victory opened a new door of possibilities for America and for the world. People in other countries see America differently now and Americans have a chance to think again about who they are.

If I had had a vote, I would definitely have given it to Obama!

The future of the English language

It is proved nowadays that English is the most widely spoken language all over the world. It is the language of business, international politics, advertising, the recording industry, science, technology, travel, media, and especially the Internet. People can communicate all over the world thanks to this language. If it weren't for the English language, it would be difficult for people from different countries to communicate effectively. Therefore, it has become a link between many different cultures.

The English language emerged in Britain and gained a lot of importance due to the British overseas empire. It was the dominant language in these colonies until after World War II when the British lost their power to the USA. This is why English is such an important language. The USA is a powerful country with an enormous economy and industry that uses English as the universal language to communicate with people from many different countries.

What's next? What is the future for the English language?

English is being learned all over the world as a first foreign language. In general, this is making it the most learned language outside the English speaking countries. On the other hand, the population in the countries in which English is the first language is steadily declining.

As a result, many new varieties of English will develop in these countries. Each country has its own pronunciation of many English words, and they also have their own way of adapting to the English language. While adapting to the English language, they are also trying to find a way to learn the language while trying to express their ethnic identity.

In conclusion, we can't say there will only be one form of English. In the future, it's possible to say that English will be combined with other languages and it may come to be spoken in many different variations that we can refer to as "New Englishes."

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