WRITERS' CORNER #39

The future lingua franca

Francisca Moreira, nº21, 12ºJ

English is, no doubt, the worlds current lingua franca. Having millions of speakers all over the world, it is thanks to English that we can communicate with each other no matter where we are. However, can we really say that it will remain the lingua franca in the future?

As far as I’m concerned, that is quite unlikely and there is a myriad of reasons why.

On the one had, technology is becoming more and more advanced. Nowadays, we can already translate an entire web page with a simple click into in our native language. So, it’s not that unbelievable that one day we’ll be able to translate, in real time, what other people are saying.

On the other hand, the US is slowly being removed from it’s role as the world’s most powerful nation, as the emergence of China as an economically powerful nation is steadily spreading Chinese around the world.

Finally, technology is no longer an “English only” world. Gadgets and apps are now available in many different languages and, as such, people no longer need to know English to be able to use them.

To sum up, it’s only a matter of time until English is no longer needed as the lingua franca. The world is constantly changing and evolving and, therefore, so is the lingua franca.