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This book is an erudite and provocative examination of the rise and coming fall of English as the world's language. A lingua franca, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is a language used as a medium of communication between peoples of different languages. English has become the world's lingua franca -- the most widely spoken in human history. But its dominance has so far lasted no more than two centuries -- far shorter than the currency of many others, such as Greek, Latin, Malay, Swahili, or Persian. And now, as historian and linguist Nicholas Ostler persuasively argues in his provocative new book, English stands to be displaced as the world's language. At present, international English worldwide is spoken not by majorities, but by elites; and the countries where English is spoken natively are losing their command of the world's economic heights. Soon, the rising wealth of states such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China will shrink any international preference for English. - Jacket flap.
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Showing 4 featured editions. View all 4 editions?
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1
Last Lingua Franca: The Rise and Fall of World Languages
2012, Penguin Books, Limited
in English
1846142164 9781846142161
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2
The last lingua franca: English until the return of Babel
2010, Walker & Co.
Hardcover
in English
- 1st U.S. ed.
0802717713 9780802717719
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3
Last Lingua Franca: English until the Return of Babel
2010, Penguin Books, Limited
in English
1846142156 9781846142154
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4
Last Lingua Franca: English until the Return of Babel
2010, Penguin Books, Limited
in English
0141922214 9780141922218
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- Created February 22, 2012
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