<< In Europe Spanish is less importante than (in order):
1 English
2 French
3 German >>
Number 2 and 3 could change places depending on who you talk to.
<< In Europe Spanish has less presence than Dutch or Polish — despite the fact that Spain is the sole more or less advanced Hispanic society. >>
It is well known that Spanish is a 2nd tier language in Europe, because of it's location and moderate population (compared to Eng, Fr, Ger, Ital).
But Spanish is one of the major languages in the Americas: English/Spanish, Portuguese, French (in that order by the way). Not to mention it is among the most spoken and studied in the world, so it is stupid to say it is not important.
Back to the thread; I think English will remain the dominate world language for some time because it is so well established and its influence continues to grow and spread. It will be difficult to displace. Other strong languages like Spanish, Chinese, Russian and yes French will all be more or less important in their own regions, but English is the only "true" international langauge.
Not to sure about Arabic or Hindi. The Arab world has many problems and the prosperity of the region in the future is unknown. Plus English has a decent presence in business and education there. India will become more prosperous, but English has a stong enough presence in India so that Hindi will probably not become a very practical or popular language for foreigners.
1 English
2 French
3 German >>
Number 2 and 3 could change places depending on who you talk to.
<< In Europe Spanish has less presence than Dutch or Polish — despite the fact that Spain is the sole more or less advanced Hispanic society. >>
It is well known that Spanish is a 2nd tier language in Europe, because of it's location and moderate population (compared to Eng, Fr, Ger, Ital).
But Spanish is one of the major languages in the Americas: English/Spanish, Portuguese, French (in that order by the way). Not to mention it is among the most spoken and studied in the world, so it is stupid to say it is not important.
Back to the thread; I think English will remain the dominate world language for some time because it is so well established and its influence continues to grow and spread. It will be difficult to displace. Other strong languages like Spanish, Chinese, Russian and yes French will all be more or less important in their own regions, but English is the only "true" international langauge.
Not to sure about Arabic or Hindi. The Arab world has many problems and the prosperity of the region in the future is unknown. Plus English has a decent presence in business and education there. India will become more prosperous, but English has a stong enough presence in India so that Hindi will probably not become a very practical or popular language for foreigners.