[PKFFW]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

@PKFFW - in the UK our language has changed dramatically over the years following each new invasion (Anglo Saxon, Viking, French) and these changes have added to the colour of our language. Certainly no-one in the UK complains about being forced to use Norman words and the language is still changing on a daily basis - last Saturday I was having dinner alongside the guy who created the word "simples" (used in some advertising campaign) and he was inordinately proud that his word might make it into the OED.

I'm not saying anyone else complains about having to use english because England invaded and conquered them years ago.

I'm saying that the fact England did invade and conquer those countries years ago, and in so doing spread their language to those countries, is the main reason english is now the defacto international language.

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

The huge influence of China in business means that children in my son's school are learning languages like Chinese. I don't resent this and instead hope it will get them better jobs in future. The global nature of commerce just means that people will veer towards more widely spoken languages. Things might change in the future if oil shortages make travel (and global shipping) untenable and then perhaps regional languages might start to spread again.

Again, I did not say anyone resents english being the dominant language or that anyone resents their children learning it in school.

As for commerce meaning people will veer towards more widely spoken languages, I agree completely. However, I believe english will continue to be the defacto international language of choice for the foreseeable future. I primarily believe this to be the case because far more countries around the world have english as a compulsory second language in their school curriculum than any other language. Therefore it is far more likely that more people will have english as a second language than any other language. About the only other language that could conceivably threaten english as the international language is chinese and even China has english as a compulsory second language at school.

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

Which language would you propose as the lingua franca for India? would everyone there be happy with your choice?

What has that got to do with the price of beans in chile as my mum would say? What I think might be a good language for India doesn't mean squat and has no relevance to the discussion at hand.

The simple undeniable fact is that english was spread around the world by England embarking on a campaign to colonise the world. It is primarily because of this fact and not because of any inate advantage of the english language over other languages that english is now the defacto international language. That is my only point. I'm not judging it for good or ill or suggesting that all those countries despise having to speak english or resent their children learning english.

Cheers,
PKFFW