Author Gaston Dorren says the English language has been successful – but not because it’s easy to learn

He told, “We will at some point have devices that translate our speech into any major language.

“We’re not quite there yet and it may take longer than the boffins think, for language is more complex than they give it credit for.”

Dorren dubs this major language breakthrough the “Babel Chip” – meaning we will be able to speak to almost anyone in the world without having to learn foreign languages.

He explained: “[Learning languages] will still be valuable for all sorts of cultural and psychological reasons, but the majority won’t bother.

“So it’s not Mandarin or any other language that is likely to become the undoing of English – it’s technology.”

Dorren said that English was now the closest thing we have to a global tongue, and people were unlikely to discard it .

“GLOBISH” FORM OF ENGLISH

However, he believes it could “evolve”, and gradually become more simplistic, through the creation of a so-called “Globish” form of English.

Globish is defined as a simplified form of Anglo-American English, used as a worldwide “lingua franca” – a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.

Dorren added: “It’s also possible that native spoken English will diverge into separate regional languages, such as American, British and Strine [Australian-English] alongside Globish.

“But, I don’t expect the world to embrace a whole new language, and certainly not Mandarin.”

The author says that English has been successful not because it’s easy to learn, but because English speakers have dominated the world both economically and culturally for the best part of a century.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/8292860/tech-speak-without-learning-foreign-language/