COMMON TONGUE

English is becoming the common language of education worldwide. “The development is unprecedented. Not even Latin, the European scholarly language for almost two millennia, or Greek in the ancient world before it, had the same reach. For the first time, one language, English – a bastard mixture of old French dialects and the tongues of several Germanic tribes living in what is now England – is becoming the lingua franca of business, popular culture, and higher education across the globe.” – Chronicle of Higher Education 09/05/00