demonstrating　in　Lithuania；　Estonia；　Korea；　Iraq；　Mexico；　and　other　countries　where
  neither　the　protestors；　the　ones　they’re　protesting　against；　nor　the　local　media　speak
  native　English？　In　addition　to　the　signs　and　banners　in　their　own　languages；　they　always
  carry　signs　and　banners　in　English。　And　for　good　reason。　They　want　their　message　to
  reverberate　around　the　world。
  On　a　map　of　Africa；　Nigeria　seems　a　tiny　patch　where　the　bulge　of　that　gigantic
  continent　meets　the　body。　Inside　that　patch；　however；　live　between　100　and　120　million
  people　speaking　250　different　languages；　with　names　like　Yoruba；　Ibo；　Hausa；　Nupe；　and
  Oyo。　From　their　first　day　of　school；　the　children　of　Nigeria　are　taught　English。　Without
  English；　not　only　could　Nigeria　not　talk　to　the　world；　Nigerians　couldn’t　even　talk　to　each
  other。
  When　a　Nigerian　educator；　Aliu　Babtunde　Fafunwa；　proposed　in　early　1991　that
  Nigerian　children　begin　their　education　in　their　250　respective　mother　tongues；　the
  government　newspaper　itself　wrote　in　an　editorial；　“The　least　luxury　we　can　afford　in　the
  last　decade　of　the　twentieth　century　is　an　idealistic　experiment　in　linguistic　nationalism
  which　could　cut　our　children　off　from　the　main　current　of　human　development。”　That’s
  hardly　a　hate　filled　denunciation　of　former　colonial　masters。
  Every　attempt　to　launch　an　artificial　international　language　has　so　far　failed。
  Esperanto；　Idiom　Neutral；　Kosmos；　Monoglottica；　Universalsprache；　Neo…Latine；
  Vertparl；　Mundolingue；　Dil；　Volapuk；　even　an　international　language　based　on　the　notes
  of　the　musical　scale；　all　started　out　weak　and　gradually　tapered　off。　My　guess　is　they
  always　will。　You　can　no　more　“vote”　a　language　into　being　the　international　language
  than　you　can　vote　warmth　into　a　blizzard。
  Languages　attain　prominence　something　the　way　individuals　and　countries　do；
  through　all　kinds　of　force；　including　war。　There’s　an　added　element　in　prominence；
  however。　Brute　force　is　not　enough。　The　winning　language　must　have　a　degree　of
  acceptability　to　the　losers。
  Russian　emerged　from　World　War　II　as　a　mighty　language；　but　it　failed　to　bluster
  beyond　the　bounds　of　the　Communist　empire。　Russian　even　failed　to　inspire　people　to
  learn　it　inside　their　empire。　Students　in　Hungary；　Romania；　and　East　Germany　knew　no
  more　Russian　after　eight　years　of　schooling　than　Americans　know　French　after　similar
  exposure。
  English；　on　the　other　hand；　was　welcomed。　Africans　and　Asians　may　not　have
  rejoiced　at　being　forcibly　incorporated　into　the　British　Empire；　but　they　recognised　that
  the　English　language；　if　learned　by　all；　was　a　unifying　tool　that　enabled　different　tribes
  who　lived　five　miles　apart　to　communicate　for　the　first　time；　in　a　language　brought　down
  upon　them　from　thousands　of　miles　away。
  A　wolf　will　lift　his　neck　to　let　a　larger　wolf　know　that　he　accepts　the　other’s
  dominant　role　as　leader。　The　entire　world　has　lifted　its　neck　to　acknowledge　English　as
  the　language　of　choice　in　the　modern　world。　It　wasn’t　all　military　and　commercial　power；
  either。　American　movies；　songs；　comic　strips；　TV　series；　even　T…shirts　all　helped　make
  English　the　international　language　of　the　earth　by　acclaim。
  But　only　the　shortsighted　will　consider　the　dominance　of　English　reason　to　return
  foreign　language　materials　to　the　bookstore　and　forget　the　whole　thing。　It’s　precisely
  because　the　peoples　of　the　world　honour　our　language　that　we　get　so　much　more
  appreciation　when　we　go　out　of　our　way　to　honour　theirs。