L'ultima lingua franca

For the linguist David Crystal, it is entirely plausible that "English, in some shape or form, will find itself in the service of the world community for ever". In his new, engaging and learned book, The Last Lingua Franca. English until the return of Babel (Allen Lane), Nicholas Ostler challenges this widespread confidence in the continued future of English as the dominant global language, and, more radically, questions whether there will be any need at all for a single language of international communication “in a world where digital technology is cheap and ubiquitous”.