English Only?

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And, despite what you may have been led to believe, English is by no means the most widely spoken language in the world today. As the first language of 322 million people, it still runs a distant second to Mandarin Chinese, the mother tongue of nearly one in six human beings, or 885 million people.

Rather than forcing the rest of the world into an English-or-perish scenario, Fishman suggests that a wiser step may be for English speakers to adopt and encourage regional languages suited for distinctive social functions. Many Americans already do this to a certain extent: Consider ebonics, Spanglish, and other hybrids.

'The language characteristically used with intimate family and friends, the language generally used with co-workers or neighbors, and the language used with one's bosses or government need not be the same,' Fishman explains. 'Many West Africans, for example, are trilingual on a fully functional basis: They use local mother tongues when they're among 'their own,' Hausa for regional trade and secular literacy, and Arabic for prayer and Koranic study.'

And most of all, the linguistic dominance of English depends largely on the continued economic dominance of the United States. Language use is, Fishman reminds us, largely mercurial. The popularity of a tongue may wane if its 'sponsor' loses its influence.

'If anything were to disestablish the military or economic power of the USA, there would be inevitable consequences for the global status of the language,' Crystal says in Whole Earth. 'The millions of people learning English in order to have access to this power would begin looking elsewhere.'

So you might want to look around for a Chinese phrase book. If American tech stocks keep taking a beating, it might serve you well to learn a few good Mandarin pick-up lines.

Top Ten Languages
(millions of native speakers)

Chinese (Mandarin) 885
English 322
Spanish 266
Bengali 189
Hindi 182
Portuguese 170

Russia 170
Japanese 125
German 98
Chinese (Wu) 77

Discuss at the Globe conference in Cafe Utne: www.utne.com/salon.aspx

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