Globalization is a process by which economies and cultures have been drawn deeper together and have

become more inter-connected through global networks of trade, capital flows, and the rapid spread of
technology and global media. The share of global GDP accounted for by exports of goods and services
has risen from 12% in 1960 to almost 30% now.

Characteristics of globalization

1. Greater trade in goods and services both between nations and within regions
2. An increase in transfers of capital including the expansion of foreign direct investment (FDI) by
trans-national companies (TNCs) and the rising influence of sovereign wealth funds
3. The development of global brands that serve markets in higher and lower income countries
4. Spatial division of labour– for example out-sourcing and off shoring of production and support
services as production supply-chains has become more international. As an example, the iPhone
is part of a complicated global supply chain. The product was conceived and designed in Silicon
Valley; the software was enhanced by software engineers working in India. Most iPhones are
assembled / manufactured in China and Taiwan by TNCs such as FoxConn
5. High levels of labour migration within and between countries
6. New nations joining the world trading system. China and India joined the WTO in 1991, Russia
joined the WTO in 2012
7. A fast changing shift in the balance of economic and financial power from developed to emerging
economies and markets – i.e. a change in the centre of gravity in the world economy
8. Increasing spending on investment, innovation and infrastructure across large parts of the world
9. Globalisation is a process of making the world economy more inter-dependent
10. Many of the industrializing countries are winning a rising share of world trade and their
economies are growing faster than in richer developed nations especially after the global financial
crisis (GFC)

Importance of Globalization

The following are some of the important advantages of globalisation

(i) Globalisation helps to boost the long run average growth rate of the economy of the country through:

(a) Improvement in the allocative efficiency of resources;

(b) Increase in labour productivity; and

(c) Reduction in capital-output ratio.

(ii) Globalisation paves the way for removing inefficiency in production system. Prolonged protective
scenario in the absence of globalisation makes the production system careless about cost effectiveness
which can be attained by following the policy of globalisation.

(iii) Globalisation attracts entry of foreign capital along with foreign updated technology which improves
the quality of production.
(iv) Globalisation usually restructure production and trade pattern favouring labour-intensive goods and
labour-intensive techniques as well as expansion of trade in services.

(v) In a globalized scenario, domestic industries of developing country become conscious about price
reduction and quality improvement to their products so as to face foreign competition.

(vi) Globalisation discourages uneconomic import substitution and favour cheaper imports of capital
goods which reduces capital-output ratio in manufacturing industries. Cost effectiveness and price
reduction of manufactured commodities will improve the terms of trade in favour of agriculture.

(vii) Globalisation facilitates consumer goods industries to expand faster to meet growing demand for
these consumer goods which would result faster expansion of employment opportunities over a period of
time. This would result trickle down effect to reduce the proportion of population living below the
poverty line

(viii) Globalisation enhances the efficiency of the banking insurance and financial sectors with the
opening up to those areas to foreign capital, foreign banks and insurance companies.

Effects of globalization in language use and communication

Globalization is readily increasing in today’s world. This increase in globalization has many effects on
language, both positive and negative. These effects on language in turn affect the culture of the language
in many ways.

However, with globalization allowing languages and their cultures to spread and dominate on a global
scale, it also leads to the extinction of other languages and cultures.

Language contributes to the formation of culture, such as through vocabulary, greetings or humor.
Language is in a sense the substance of culture. Languages serve as important symbols of group
belonging, enabling different groups of people to know what ethnic groups they belong to, and what
common heritages they share. Without a language, people would lose their cultural identity.

Languages are the essential medium in which the ability to communicate across culture develops.
Knowledge of one or several languages enables us to perceive new horizons, to think globally, and to
increase our understanding of ourselves and of our neighbors. Languages are, then, the very lifeline of
globalization: without language, there would be no globalization; and vice versa, without globalization,
there would be no world languages.