Some commentators think that British exit from the EU portends the beginning of the end of English as an international language. They see British influence declining precipitately, and even think that this is the moment when Esperanto will begin to grow as a preferred language. They point out that English is mainly a second language to most people, that people will stop learning it and rely increasingly on advanced computer translation and speech recognition. Already, in SriLanka and Tanzania nationalists have insisted on local languages and stopped children learning English at all. Alternatively, some think that English will evolve into new languages or dialects.

I personally think that Brexit and the UK are irrelevant in this matter. Too much credence is given to British influence. While the US has the most powerful economy on Earth, English will remain the most generally spoken foreign tongue. It is the language of research, of science, the media, engineering and big business. It isn’t easy to learn, but it’s easier than Chinese. Were China to throw off its control-freaky regime and become the No. 1 economy, this could all change. Meanwhile, in India for instance, English is recognised by Indians as one important reason that keeps the country together, so many are the Indian tongues.

As for Esperanto, it might be easier to learn and has no exceptions and complications, but it has been in existence for nearly two centuries and is still spoken by a tiny percentage of the people on the planet. Establishing new lingua franca is a long and difficult process and depends a lot on trade. Hope dwells eternal, but in the case of Esperanto I think seeing it spread around the world is wishful thinking.