By some counts, only 600 of the 6,000 or so languages in the world are ‘safe’ from the threat of extinction. On some reckonings, the world will, by the 21st century, be dominated by a small number of major languages.

Imagine what would happen if English continues to grow as it has. Maybe one day it will be the only language left to learn. If that happens, it will be the greatest intellectual disaster the planet has ever known.

-David Crystal, Language Death

fnews
September 2006