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A book I enjoyed: > English is the world's lingua franca-the most widely spoken language in human history. And yet, as historian and linguist Nicholas Ostler p

A book I enjoyed: > English is the world's lingua franca-the most widely spoken language in human history. And yet, as historian and linguist Nicholas Ostler persuasively argues, English will not only be displaced as the world's language in the not-distant future, it will be the last lingua franca, not replaced by another. > Empire, commerce, and religion have been the primary raisons d'etre for lingua francas--Greek, Latin, Arabic have all held the position--and Ostler explores each through the lens of civilizations spanning the globe and history, from China and India to Russia and Europe. Three trends emerge that suggest the ultimate decline of English and other lingua francas. Movements throughout the world towards equality in society will downgrade the status of elites--and since elites are the prime users of non-native English, the language will gradually retreat to its native-speaking territories. The rising wealth of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will challenge the dominance of native-English-speaking nations--thereby shrinking the international preference for English. Simultaneously, new technologies will allow instant translation among major languages, enhacing the status of mother tongues and lessening the necessity for any future lingua franca. * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8366156-the-last-lingua-franca https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8366156-the-last-lingua-... * Not in bookshop.org's database

bombcar 3y ago
The second part is perhaps more important than the first - once we have nearly perfect automatic translators, the need to learn the lingua franca will drop. As it is, the "movers and shakers" in the BRIC all speak the lingua franca (English), and more importantly; they speak English between each other even when no native English speakers are around. In fact, the downfall of the Pax Americana (which from a language perspective is just the Pax Britania continued) may result in solidifying English as the lingua franca, as it would become a neutral language that doesn't show deference to any particular up-and-coming power.
- trilbyglens 3y ago
  We absolutely do not have anything close to perfect automatic translators. Machine translation is still largely shit, and very definitely shit if you try to use it in a real time situation.
  - briandear 3y ago
    And it’s definitely not good enough for negotiations or legal discussions that are common for business. There is a lot of important nuance that machine translations don’t capture that can be critical. A machine translated contract for example is a very risky proposition.
    - midasuni 3y ago
      There will be a need for professional translators. The majority of interactions do not need that level though.
enkid 3y ago
This isn't even true in it's face. The lingua franca the term is derived from was a trading language across different cultures. It was used across the Mediterranean when there was a common language due to geopolitical or religious barriers. The need for such a language has only increased with increased global connectivity and global commerce. This is the same role it's filing in places like the EU, where only a small population speaks it natively, but it's a working language of the central bank and and the European Commission. In India and South Africa, it's lack of a native population has actually helped it maintain it's status, as other potential languages of commerce/government (for example Hindi in India and Afrikaans in SA) are associated negatively with nationalistic political movements for a majority of the population. Even in a country like Vietnam, where you would think a negative history with the United States would discourage it's use, over 50% of its population has some use of it. Overall, I just think it's hard to see any sort of trend of English lessening as a lingua franca.
- midasuni 3y ago
  It’s possible increasingly accurate and usable real time translation removing the need for a common tongue over the next 20 years, let alone 100
- throw0101b 3y ago
  > The lingua franca the term is derived from was a trading language across different cultures. Which is the first 80-90% of the book: the history of various ones going back about to 3000 BC (or some such).

bombcar 3y ago

The second part is perhaps more important than the first - once we have nearly perfect automatic translators, the need to learn the lingua franca will drop. As it is, the "movers and shakers" in the BRIC all speak the lingua franca (English), and more importantly; they speak English between each other even when no native English speakers are around. In fact, the downfall of the Pax Americana (which from a language perspective is just the Pax Britania continued) may result in solidifying English as the lingua franca, as it would become a neutral language that doesn't show deference to any particular up-and-coming power.

trilbyglens 3y ago
We absolutely do not have anything close to perfect automatic translators. Machine translation is still largely shit, and very definitely shit if you try to use it in a real time situation.
- briandear 3y ago
  And it’s definitely not good enough for negotiations or legal discussions that are common for business. There is a lot of important nuance that machine translations don’t capture that can be critical. A machine translated contract for example is a very risky proposition.
  - midasuni 3y ago
    There will be a need for professional translators. The majority of interactions do not need that level though.

enkid 3y ago

This isn't even true in it's face. The lingua franca the term is derived from was a trading language across different cultures. It was used across the Mediterranean when there was a common language due to geopolitical or religious barriers. The need for such a language has only increased with increased global connectivity and global commerce. This is the same role it's filing in places like the EU, where only a small population speaks it natively, but it's a working language of the central bank and and the European Commission. In India and South Africa, it's lack of a native population has actually helped it maintain it's status, as other potential languages of commerce/government (for example Hindi in India and Afrikaans in SA) are associated negatively with nationalistic political movements for a majority of the population. Even in a country like Vietnam, where you would think a negative history with the United States would discourage it's use, over 50% of its population has some use of it. Overall, I just think it's hard to see any sort of trend of English lessening as a lingua franca.

midasuni 3y ago
It’s possible increasingly accurate and usable real time translation removing the need for a common tongue over the next 20 years, let alone 100
throw0101b 3y ago
> The lingua franca the term is derived from was a trading language across different cultures. Which is the first 80-90% of the book: the history of various ones going back about to 3000 BC (or some such).