"The Internet will promote English-only"??
The Internet will promote English as the lingua franca. A lingua franca does not displace other languages; it simply provides a common medium of communication, as Latin did in the Middle Ages in Europe.
English has already served as a lingua franca in a number of areas of the world, notably India. Many moons ago, when I was living in New York City, I had an Indian roomer, with the name of Harold Rodriguez. Harold was from Goa, the former Portuguese colony. And when his Indian friends used to visit him, they all spoke English together, since they had no other language in common. It was totally incomprehensible Indian English, of course. <g>
Speaking of India, there is a country with innumerable distinct ethnic groups, each with its own language, customs, & culture. Yet it is my impression that ethnic conflict has always taken a back seat to religious (Hindu/Moslem) conflict. |
