Book description
In this provocative and persuasive new book, Nicholas Ostler challenges
our assumption that English will continue to dominate as the global
lingua franca. Drawing on his encyclopaedic knowledge of world languages
and their history, Ostler reveals that just as past great languages like
Latin and Sanskrit have died out, so English will follow. The influence
of English now is hard to exaggerate it is the world s preferred
medium for business, science and entertainment, and is claimed to be a
basic educational tool like mathematics or computing. So is it here to
stay? For the last four centuries, the dominant world power has been
English-speaking, but the global balance of power is shifting. And in
countries like Brazil, Russia and China, English plays no part in the
national tradition. Although globalization has helped the rise of
English, trade, migration, economic development and technological
innovation are now changing the way we access and use language. Ostler
shows how we are headed towards a much more multilingual and diverse
future. And as English retreats, no single language will take its place.
We can embrace this future but first we need to accept it: the last
competitive advantage of native English-speakers will soon be consigned
to history. Nicholas Ostler is the author of the critically acclaimed
Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World. He studied Greek,
Latin and Philosophy at the University of Oxford and holds a Ph. D. in
Linguistics from MIT. With a working knowledge of twenty-six languages,
Nicholas now runs an institute for the protection of endangered
languages, an international organization that provides funding and
support to document and revive dying languages. He lives in Bath.
