Newsflash: English Not Only Language In World
12 years ago - Katie Botkin on January 9, 2009
Newsflash: English Not Only Language In World
12 years ago - Katie Botkin on January 9, 2009
The New York Times and CMS wire most recently have been reporting on Quillpad as an inventive new technology allowing users to type Asian scripts phonetically and get something like Devanagari script as a result, bypassing the need to learn (or use) tricky keystrokes on a Roman keyboard.
This is presented in both articles to underscore the growing importance of non-English languages on the web: by 2012, Asia will have three times the internet users of North America. Giving the current trajectory, any predictions as to what, if anything, will become the new lingua franca, and when? Or will there be several, or none; will globalization result in more language preservation or less? I’m wondering how stable the current state of affairs is, where, for example, an Asian tourist may speak to a Chilean in English and expect a response (according to a former South American ESL student of mine). Greek passed, Latin passed, French passed, even from their own former empires, though the marks of each are still there. How much longer does English have?
On a certain level, it would be nice if everyone spoke everyone else’s language and no lingua franca were needed, but then we’d be out of a job.
Related News:
Biden Uses Arabic “Inshallah” during Presidential Debate
Responding to President Trump’s unfulfilled promise to release his tax returns, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden remarked, “Inshallah,” a common Arabic expression that can signal… Continue Reading
LA County Receives 70,000 Requests for Non-English Ballots
The LA County Clerk Dean Logan announced that registered voters can still request to receive their voting materials for the November 3 election in one… Continue Reading
Vaccine Language Rules in EU May Soften during COVID
Fearing EU language-access requirements may slow vaccine development, drugmakers call on officials to soften rules. Some worry a rule change could hurt the effectiveness of… Continue Reading
Beowulf Translated with a 2020-Style Makeover
Following her 2018 novelized retelling of the epic poem, Maria Dahvana Headley has written a new translation of Beowulf that adopts a contemporary vernacular and… Continue Reading
Career Opportunities
Featured Podcasts
Featured Vendors And Organizations
