On speaking English

From The Two Canberras: Essays on public policy by Jenny Stewart, published by Ginninderra Press

As a schoolgirl, I remember being taught Esperanto by an enthusiastic teacher, a post-war refugee from the horrors of Europe, who believed that if only the world had access to a common language, there would be less conflict and misunderstanding. It was a noble vision, but of course Esperanto – an artificial construction based on a number of European languages – never caught on.

There is little doubt that English is now the international language – of trade, commerce, travel and diplomacy. If the cause of world peace seems no further advanced than it was forty years ago, at least we are beginning to conduct our quarrels in a common language.

English has also become the international language of scholarship. Academic conferences are conducted in English, and thanks perhaps to the ever-expanding European Union, more and more European academics are writing and publishing in English. Dutch…