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…
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