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¡¡¡¡D) In the early decades of the 20th century, H. G. Wells imagined what would become known as World English in his prophetic (Ô¤ÑÔµÄ) novel 7he World Set Free. That term for the concept of English as an international language, a global second language, an intellectual and commeraal lubricant, even an instrument of foreign policy on the part of the major English-speaking nations, grew commononly in the 1960s.¡¡¡¡E) As English continues to spread, it seems like a steamroller £¨Ñ¹Â·»ú£©, squashing whatever gets in its way True, it is often used alongside local languages and does not instantly replace them. Yet its presence shifts the cultural emphases in the lives of those who adopt it, altering their aspirations and expectations. English seems, increasingly, more important. It is possible to imagine it merely coexisting with other languages, but easy to see that coexistence turning into transcendence. AsEnglish impinges (ÇÖ·¸) on the spaces occupied by other languages, linguists are increasingly fmding that they need to behave like environmentalists: Instead of being scholars they have to become activists.¡¡¡¡F) Today it is English, rather than any created alternative, that is the world's auxiliary tongue. There are more people who use English as a second language than its native speakers. Estimates of the numbers vary, but even the most guarded view is that English has 500 million second languagespeakers. Far more of the world's citizens are eagerly jumping on board than trying to resist its progress.¡¡¡¡G) Yet, there are challenges to the position of English as the dominant world language in the 21st century. The main ones seem likely to come from Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. Both have more¡¡¡¡first language users than English. There is an argument that the revitalization (ÐÂÉú) of minoritylanguages is good for English, because it weakens the large rivals of English and thus removes obstacles to the spread of the language. So, for instance, the resurgence (¸´ËÕ) of Catalan, Basque and Galiaan weakens Castilian Spanish, which is the standard literary and offiaal form of Spanish, making it a less powerful rival to English. Apologists for English invert this argument, claiming that the advance of English is good for minority languages. The inversion is spurious (¾ßÓÐÆÛÆ­ÐÔµÄ).¡¡¡¡H) The main challenges to English may come from within. There is a long history of people's usingthe language for anti-English ends-of creative artists and political figures asserting in Englishtheir distance from Englishness or Britishness or Americanness. For instance, many writers whose first language has not been English have infused their English writing with foreign flavors; tlus has enabled them to parade(չʾ) their heritage while working in a medium that has made it possible for them to reach a wide audience.¡¡¡¡I) At the same time, native speakers of English tend to assume that their ability in tlus potent languagemakes it unimportant to learn other languages. The reality is different. British companies often nuss out on export opportunities because of a lack of relevant language skills. Moreover, there is a chance that a command of English will within 20 or 30 years be regarded as a basic skill for business, and native speakers of the language will no longer enjoy any competitive advantage.¡¡¡¡¡­¡­