1. 16. The Future of English Neomi, Aurelia, Océane

2. Did you know that English.. O Is the most widespread language in the world and is more widely spoken and written than any other language? O Is spoken by 700 million people, as a foreign language? O Being able to speak English is seen as a advantage in life?

3. Prediction 1 O « In many areas, English speakers are fearful of being swamped. Some even see it as a conspiracy, among them the former U.S. Senator S. I. Hayakawa, who wrote in 1987 that he believes that « a very real move is afoot to split the U.S. into a bilingual and bicultural society. » [Education Digest, May 1987] »

4. What we think… O According to the Census bureau 11% of people in America speak a language other than English at home. O The quality of Enlish: O U.S. News & World Report put the number of functionally illiterate adults in America at 27 million -that is about 1 in every 6 people aged 21+.

5. Predition 2 O « In 1978, in a speech to 800 librarians in Chicago, Robert Burchfield, then the chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionnaries, noted his belief that British English and American English were moving apart so inexorably that within 200 years they could be mutually unintelligible. »

6. What we think… O There are no major differences. O Only the accents change. O Use of different words/slang. O Dominant language. O Everyone wants to be able to speak it. O Opens up more opportunities for people.

7. Prediction 3 O According to language researcher; David Graddol: « By 2050, he says, Chinese will continue its predominance, with Hindi- Urdu of India and Arabic climbing past English, and Spanish nearly equal to it. »

8. To Conclude… O It is generally agreed that English is - and will remain - a Global Language as long as the USA remains a global power. O « If we should be worrying about anything to do with the future of English, it should be not that the various strands will drift apart but that they will grow indistinuishable. »

9. Citations O Bill Bryson (2001) booklet O http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4387421/n s/technology_and_science- science/t/english-wont-dominate-world- language/#.ToiuHXPwMYt