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Nicholas Ostler

The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel Hardcover – November 23, 2010

by Nicholas Ostler (Author)

3.9 27 ratings

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English is the world's lingua franca-the most widely spoken language in human history. And yet, as historian and linguist Nicholas Ostler persuasively argues, English will not only be displaced as the world's language in the not-distant future, it will be the last lingua franca, not replaced by another.
Empire, commerce, and religion have been the primary raisons d'etre for lingua francas--Greek, Latin, Arabic have all held the position--and Ostler explores each through the lens of civilizations spanning the globe and history, from China and India to Russia and Europe. Three trends emerge that suggest the ultimate decline of English and other lingua francas. Movements throughout the world towards equality in society will downgrade the status of elites--and since elites are the prime users of non-native English, the language will gradually retreat to its native-speaking territories. The rising wealth of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will challenge the dominance of native-English-speaking nations--thereby shrinking the international preference for English. Simultaneously, new technologies will allow instant translation among major languages, enhacing the status of mother tongues and lessening the necessity for any future lingua franca.
Ostler predicts a soft landing for English: It will still be widely spoken, if no longer worldwide, sustained by America's continued power on the world stage. But its decline will be both symbolic and significant, evidence of grand shifts in the cultural effects of empire. The Last Lingua Franca is both an insightful examination of the trajectory of our own mother tongue and a fascinating lens through which to view the sweep of history.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Walker Books
Publication date

November 23, 2010
Dimensions

6.44 x 1.22 x 9.53 inches
ISBN-10

0802717713
ISBN-13

978-0802717719
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Nicholas Ostler
607
Paperback
73 offers from $2.31

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The days of English as the all-conquering international language of science, commerce, and hip-hop are numbered, according to this dense philological treatise. Linguist Ostler (Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin) recaps the rise and fall of lingua francas past--from ancient Sanskrit and Latin to French in the 19th century--to glean insights into how such languages spread--by military conquest, trade, and missionary work-- then shrivel when the originating country loses prestige and power. He concludes from this retrospective that English will recede (though not die), and that no new lingua franca will supplant it--sorry, Esperanto speakers!--because translation software will let everyone communicate directly without learning a common language. Ostler uses English's fate mainly as a peg to hang a rather technical comparative study in which pedestrian generalities emerge from a thicket of historical minutiae. The interested layman will find the book readable, but the level of arcane detail about unfamiliar languages ("the characteristic ezafe construction of Persian noun–phrases, which appends all dependents to the head noun with a linking –i-or-e-, is copied in Chagatay Turkic") may put off the casual reader. 10 b&w illus.; 3 maps. (Dec.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review

“A bracing history of lingua francas and their dynamic variation, with a focus on the perfect wave that International English is riding―toward a wipeout…His aim is not pedantic but to pique general readers’ code-cracking interest. Ostler does not assume specialist knowledge, but he does assume that his readers share his gargantuan and voluptuary appetite for words, languages and history.” ―Kirkus Reviews

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Walker Books; First Edition (November 23, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802717713
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802717719
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.44 x 1.22 x 9.53 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,488,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #583 in Americana Antiques & Collectibles
- #2,154 in Words, Language & Grammar Reference
- #5,911 in Linguistics Reference

Customer Reviews:
3.9 27 ratings

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3.9 out of 5

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S. Pactor

The Past, Present & Future of the English Language

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2011

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You might consider Ostler a popularizer of the field of Socio-Linguistics. His new book, published in the US on November 23rd, is an extended essay on the role of English as a Lingua Franca in the modern World. Having recently read the author's earlier book Empires of the Word, I recognized both the theme and some of the details from the earlier book, which covers much of the same territory as the Last Lingua Franca, but in a more general manner.

Specifically, in The Last Lingua Franca looks to historical examples of other Lingua Francas, and how they failed, and asks questions about whether or not English, the current Lingua Franca, might suffer the same fate. I very much place this book along the same continuum where you find pop intellectuals like Malcolm Gladwell or, shudder, Jared Diamond. This group of writers familarizes itself with specific social science disciplines, distills the knowledge into modern magazine quality prose, and attempts to generate a hook that will interest readers who normally wouldn't give an eff about the field of "socio-linguistics."

As such, I would be inclined to think that Ostler has the right angle, since the "decline" of English is a subject that obsesses both liberal members of the education establishment and political right wingers who sponsor "English Only" bills in the legislatures of the southern states.

Most of Ostler's focus in this book is extended examples of different Lingua Francas, how they functioned, and how they collapsed. The reader is treated to chapters on the role of Latin, Persian & Sanskrit in their respective societies, followed by his take on the rise of English, and what "the future holds" for English or any other would-be Lingua Franca. Ostler's ultimate conclusion is spelled out in the title of the book itself, "The LAST Lingua Franca." Ostler takes the position that the rise of Machine Translation and non-English speaking countries like Brazil, Russia, China & India make English's survival as a the language of the world far from secure. However he also acknowledges that it is difficult to imagine ANY language replacing English.

Lingua Franca is a worth while read for a reader with a passing interest in linguistics and a college education, but it's hardly intellectual heavy lifting.

25 people found this helpful

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John Peter Altgeld

Pomposity, pedantry, and an author too in love with himself

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2011

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I had read Nicholas Ostler's "Empires of the Word" and enjoyed it and learned from it. Based on that positive experience and the good reviews of "The Last Lingua Franca," I bought his new book.

What a disappointment. I didn't finish the book. I rate the book as high as three stars only because Ostler is a bright and accomplished scholar and his underlying theme is a good one. From the parts I read I feel that a reader could get the most important thoughts contained in the book through reading the jacket copy or from reviews.

Academia has a lot of virtues, but in "Lingua Franca" Ostler parades the worst of the negative stereotypes of academics: smugness, pedantry, pomposity, leaden writing. The book's many errors of fact, spelling and grammar show that he and his editors need to be more attentive. Some simple examples among the many errors: on page xii in the "Acknowlegments" he refers to the English language having been spoken "these last fifteen centuries;" and on pages 11 to 12 he writes, "Secondly, at the center of the Indian Ocean coastline, the polices [sic] of India stand in contrast to those of Sri Lanka ..." -- neither "polices" nor policies are at the center of the coastline. The writing is in the inflated style of an undergraduate seeking to impress the reader.

20 people found this helpful

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CPT

Interesting but rambling

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2018

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Ostler's basic theses concerning English's doubtful future as a world language are intriguing and the breadth of his scholarship is impressive. Nonetheless, the book tends to bog down with over-detailed tangents. Getting through the middle chapters in particular proves quite a slog: we find long meandering disquisitions on Persian and Sogdian, filled with minutiae whose relevance to the main topic remains obscure. If these sections had been trimmed by about 50%, the book as a whole would have stood more solidly and provided much more pleasurable reading.

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GAC

Excellent for its historical content and interesting ideas

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2012

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A long, sprawling account of lingua francas around the world, used as case studies in an attempt to discern the future of English, the most successful such language in human history. The final argument -- that when English ends its run as global lingua franca, everyone will communicate in their own languages with technological translation aids -- seems somewhat utopian, but I can't really find a fatal flaw when you take the long view on this. Of course, regardless of what you feel about that argument, the real value of this book is the wealth of information about the linguistic history of the world, from Persian to Sogdian to German to Nahuatl and Quechua.

Be warned, this is a long and dense read. It WILL most certainly take a good chunk of time to read and process, but I think it's well worth it.

4 people found this helpful

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JBK

Misleading Title

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2014

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I muddled through 100 pages of this book before giving it up. The link to English's place in today's world was hardly mentioned at all. If you like academic tripe in which professors take their area of special interest (but which are of no interest to anyone else) and write a book with a teaser title that bears little or no relationship to the subject matter, you might find this interesting. All I can say is that the first 100 pages contain more insignificant minutia than any of a hundred other books I could have read. I assume there is an audience for this book, but I have no idea who would buy it if they were properly warned of its actual content.

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Dr. Samuel M. Jones

For People Who Love Language, THIS is the book!

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2013

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Nicholas Ostler's works are always both excellently researched & planned, as well as persuasively written. His choice of subject matter never fails to engage & educate his readers. Ostler's genius challenges the mind impressively.
Dr, Samuel M.Jones, Professor Emeritus
University of Wisconsin-Madison

3 people found this helpful

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Jorge

Great book !

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2013

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Something to read over, go back over excerpts, etc... for anyone interested in Latin, linguistics, history, etc. Ostler's books are all always good. The kind of book I actually wished I had a hard copy of, and not the electronic one.

4 people found this helpful

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Arthur W.

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2017

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No problem

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書斎

英語が衰退してバベルの塔の時代が来るのか

Reviewed in Japan on January 12, 2019

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Lingua franca (リンガフランカ)は『ジーニアス英和大辞典』によると「共通語、世界語(母語が異なる人々の間で意思伝達のために使われる言語：英語、スワヒリ語など)とある。英語はいろいろな調査研究が示すように人類史上世界で最も広く話される言語であることから、英語はリンガフランカであるという主張に反論を唱える人はいないだろう。そして多くの人々は英語はリンガフランカとしての地位を維持し続けるであろうと考えている。しかし本書は書名の示すように「英語は最後のリンガフランカになるだろう」と主張する。要するに英語はリンガフランカの地位を追われ各国がそれぞれの母語を話す「バベルの塔」の時代が来るだろうというのである。その理由として英語を母語とする国の政治的・文化的・経済的衰退があげられる。一方でブラジル、ロシア、中国、インドなどの発展は国際言語としての英語の権威を縮小させてしまうだろう。第二にテクノロジーの進歩によって「即時翻訳」が可能になりそれぞれの国の母語の地球規模的価値が増大するであろうというのである。この挑発的とも思える予測の答えは長い年月がかかるであろう。しかし興味ある予測である。英語熱に浮かれている人には一読の価値があると思われる。世界英語の負の側面を論じたWierzbicka, A. 2014.　Imprisoned in English：The Hazards of English a a Default Language と合わせて読むとよいだろう。

One person found this helpful

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Konza

もっと簡潔にまとめて書いて欲しかった。

Reviewed in Japan on July 14, 2011

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英語の世界的地位に関して、今後ますます重要になり世界を支配するといった論調の本ばかりで飽き飽きしています。そんな中この本は、英語が世界共通語ではあり続けられない可能性を探るということをタイトルでもカバー折り返しの宣伝文句でも述べているので、ひと味違った読書体験が期待されました。どんな論拠を示すのだろうか、ということがとても楽しみでした。

しかし、私のこの本に対する期待は大きすぎたようです。過去の世界共通語の興亡のパターンを見るために、まずイランや中央アジア、インドなどの歴史をたどっているのですが、そこがあまりにも長くまた細かすぎて、世界史イコール西欧史＋中国史であるような普通の人間にとっては、読むのが非常に苦痛でした。しかも、そこでの世界語衰退のパターンの中に世界語としての英語が見放される可能性を見るのかと思いきや、その可能性は結局見いだせずに終わってしまいます。

実際に重視されるのは、自動翻訳技術の発達と、英語を母語としないBRIC諸国が世界経済で重きをなして自国の言語を押し立てようとする（中国で「世界で成功するために英語が必要だ」と考える人の割合が2002年の98％から2008年には77％に下がっていることなどが論拠）ことにより、世界が共通語を欲しないようになる、という見通しに過ぎないのです。苦労して読んだイラン史・インド史などは何だったの？とも言いたくなるし、自動翻訳技術とBRIC諸国の発達というだけでは論拠としては弱すぎて、何か結論先にありきで多少無理な論拠でもゴリ押ししているという感じが残ります。

せめて、歴史部分をもっと簡潔にまとめて書いてくれていれば（更には歴史地図と略年表があれば）、最終的な論拠がそこにはなくて、しかも薄弱なものでも、こういう考え方もあるか、と思えるのですが…。やや残念な読書になってしまいました。

3 people found this helpful

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le relecteur

a contre courant

Reviewed in France on August 7, 2014

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Livre stimulant
La thèse est originale (on ne va plus avoir besoin de l'anglais comme langue internationale).
Ce qui en fait la force, c'est qu'elle est très documentée par un linguiste de premier rang, et que ce linguiste est justement anglais.
A rapprocher de la déploration française sur la domination de l'anglais, et particulier de celle d'un autre linguiste éminent, Claude Hagège.
P.S. la lecture de ce texte trop touffu n'est pas facile....

One person found this helpful

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