Like it or not, it is an inevitability that the English language will be the Lingua Franca (forgive the pun) of the future. Consider:
- the six billionth person was born in the last year of the last century (just 13 years after the 5 billionth person). This was at a time when one country represented 25% of world population, but which in reality has several 10's of real languages represented in the western world simply as "dialects". Nonetheless this person was born into a world in which these 25% were disproportionately represented in terms of language - in simple terms, the rest of the world didn't speak their language
- in the rest of the world, the "developed world" accounts for the majority of economic activity, the principal language of which is English
- continuing immigration from the developing world to the "first world" implies at least an understanding of a common language - usually English
- maybe an aside, but most commercial aviation ground to air conversations are conducted in English. International air travel will be a major force in future development as tourism continues to define the economic well-being of developing countries.
Thus we have to accept that English will be the major language of the future. Perhaps an ironic parallel today is that the British political establishment is still resisting the encroachment of the "Euro" on British life and culture. We are giving up our currency as we are continuing to impose our language on the rest of the world.
Are we going to end up in a "Star Trek" existence, in which all peoples of the earth speak English, and the rest of the inhabitants of the universe speak their own planetary languages? Probably.
Is this a good thing? Of course it is. If Europeans (especially British) can accept derogation of sovereignty of their currency to a centralised ideal for the sake of efficiency, then why not their language? If it makes economic sense to give away your currency, why not your language?
In the end, it comes down to economics. If you want play on the world stage, speak English. If not, lose. Your choice.
>In the end, it comes down to economics. If you want >play on the world stage, speak English. If not, lose. >Your choice.
Given that all it comes down to is 'economics', who can predict which economy will lead the world in the futre? If history can teach us about anything at all, I would not dare say that 'English' will be anymore of a lingua franca of the future, than what it is already a lingua franca of today.
The technological gap between competing economy has decreased in the past decades. The need for the skill to speak 7 different languages in the job market seem to be ever increasing. Yet, on the other hand, technology also make the effort to translate between different languages so much more easier. All these lead to the conclusion that perhaps, the need of an universal lingua franca is not all that important.
As what you have already suggested, the 'developed world' already used 'english' in all intent and purposes. But, do we see the dissappearance of French, German, or even Spanish in their respective economy? Japan.. japan.. isn't it a developed country?
Today, the world speak English, because America is a powerful economy. Would the world still speak English if a different economy gets to lead the world? Rome.. Rome.. all roads lead to 'Rome'. Alas, do we still speak Latin?