February 3, 2008
THE MORE INTERESTING QUESTION...
Is English the next Latin? (Nicholas Ostler, 2/03/08, Philadelphia Inquirer)
What are the prospects for the English language?They look overwhelmingly rosy. Spoken or studied by more people than any other language, English now seems to be triumphing over its greatest rivals: The French global TV service "France 24" is now available in English, and all Chinese children study English at school - compliments that are not returned.
In the early 21st century, there is no contest: From science and politics to sport and popular music, there is no language whose currency matches English, nor even challenges it.
...is whether the Metric System can survive the dominance of the English-Speaking. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 3, 2008 12:23 AM
Latin, where it was dominant, was replaced by it's children, French, Italian, Spanish. Where it wasn't is where German and Russian thrived. As long as the Earth is unified by popular media, English's dominance will grow.
Posted by: Pete at February 3, 2008 1:48 PM