Global
For the brand of knives see Global (cutlery).The
adjective "
global" and
adverb "
globally" imply that the verb or noun to which they are applied applies to the entire
Earth as one unit. It is sometimes used as a synonym for
international/
internationally but this is incorrect:
*"Global" implicitly implies the concept of "
one world", while "international" recognizes that different nations, peoples, and borders exist.
*International is a broader term, in that it can refer to something involving all nations or as few as only two
nations, but, presumably, all must be potentially involved before it becomes truly global.
*
Nations are concerned wholly and only with
humanity's concerns, and that usually in a narrow time frame, whereas there are many global concerns that transcend species or generations.
Nonetheless, "global" has passed into common usage, especially in the
media,
academia, and the
business world, and among left-wing supporters of a "one world" concept. Many use this term in situations where "international" would clearly be the more appropriate term, as there are few things that are truly global (even the much-touted "global economy" for example does not include
Antarctica,
North Korea, etc.)
The usage of "global" is correct when referring to things which do involve the
Planet Earth as one single unit, for example: global maps, global weather patterns, global satellite photos.
The terms "
world" or
World-Wide are also sometimes used as a synonym for either global or international.
In
computer programming,
global means accessible throughout the whole program. The most common global objects are probably
global variables, considered undesirable by some.
In
physics,
geometry and
topology,
global is usually the
antonym of
local.
In
Canada,
Global often refers to the
Global Television Network.
*
Earth*
Globalization*
Glocal*
Political*
Racial*
Social*
Global village*
World community*
Culture portal*
Global politics
