The Last Lingua Franca by Nicholas Ostler - review. Deborah Cameron predicts an uncertain future for English. (Dec.4th) by Deborah Cameron. Adapted from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/04/last-lingua-franca-ostler-review with permission of The Guardian www.guardian.co.uk The Emperor Charles V is supposed to have remarked in the 16th century that he spoke Latin with God, Italian with musicians, Spanish with his troops, German with lackeys, French with ladies and English with his horse. In most books about English, the joke would be turned on Charles, used to preface the observation that the language he dismissed as uncultivated is now a colossus bestriding the world. Nicholas Ostler, however, quotes it to make the point that no language's triumph is permanent and unassailable. Like empires (and often with them), languages rise and fall, and English, Ostler contends, will be no exception... English, he suggests, will be the last lingua franca. As Anglo-American hegemony withers, the influence of English will decline; but what succeeds it will not be any other single language. Rather we will see a technologically-enabled return to a state of Babel. Thanks to advances in computer translation, "everyone will speak and write in whatever language they choose, and the world will understand". Here it might be objected that Ostler's argument depends on an unrealistic techno-optimism, and puts too much emphasis on the supposed primeval bond between speakers and their mother tongues, which some would say is largely an invention of 19th-century European nationalism. But even if he is wrong to predict the return of Babel, I do not think he is wrong to argue that English's position as the premier medium of global exchange will not be maintained for ever. In the future as in the past, linguistic landscapes can be expected to change in line with political and economic realities...   Part A. Vocabulary lingua franca 通用语, lackey 奴才, colossus 庞大, unassailable 无懈可击, hegemony 霸权 wither 枯萎, Babel 巴贝尔, to object 二话 Part B. Questions 1. Is your article talking about the future of education, the future of language or the future of travel? 2. Who wrote the book? 3. What does the book say will happen to English in the future? 4. What did Emperor Charles V use Latin for? 5. What did Emperor Charles V use Italian for? 6. What did Emperor Charles V use French for? 7. What did Emperor Charles V use English for? 8. What do you use English for? 9. Does the book predict English always be the world's most powerful language? Why? Why not? 10. What do you think? What will be powerful languages in the future? 11. What do you think about computer translation? 12. What are your favorite languages to communicate in? Where do you use them? 13. What are two possible objections to the book's claims? 14. What do you think about the relationship between language and power? 15. If you could study any language, which language would you like to study? Why? 16. Ostler's book sounds interesting. What are some other interesting books you've heard about recently?