"Must the Whole World Speak English?"

Friday, April 8, 2005
Room E102
4 p.m.

Brian Hatcher (Religion): Who Knows One, Knows None

Sonja Fritzsche (German): But Is It Your English?

James Matthews (Dean of Students and French): Freedom Fries and Le Compact Disc: What in the World….?

This panel examines the spread of English and the global importance of preserving native languages. The title is inspired by a recent Forbes essay (November 2004) by Paul Johnson who asks "Must not a super state of a score of nations have a common language?" and argues that many European Union and Asian countries are already holding board meetings in English and replacing native languages with English in business and in education. He states, "Linguistics students know perfectly well that language cannot be dictated by elites ruling from above. It is the one naturally democratic force in the world — surging up from below. That is why French schoolchildren, no matter what the Académie Francaise orders, say 'Yeah' instead of 'Oui'." He concludes by suggesting that India and China, the two most populous countries in the world, may both become predominantly English-speaking, and "there's not much we can do about it."