It's early and I am have not finished my first cup of coffee here so I forewarn the reader that I might appear to be overly cynical, but while it seems a very romantic notion to morn the passing of other languages in favor of a global language, exactly how much progress towards global peace and prosperity can we make without a common language? I find great beauty in our ethnic and cultural differences, but many people use them as reasons to hate and kill. We simply interact too much at this point in our global history to exist without a common form of communication.
On another note, I think that every generation morns how their children have twisted, torn, and rather disrespectful stomped on the language their parents tried to teach them. Trace English back to the late 1800's and Henry James' "The Ambassadors" or back to the Middle English of Chaucer and it is easy to see that English is not a carefully preserved or respected language at all. I dare say that there have been some Irish and Scottish films of note lately where subtitles made it possible for me to understand the English dialogue at all. A language that is controlled too tightly is a culture where thought is controlled too tightly.
I think that English has some momentum right now to become the basis for a global language and it will be a remarkable thing to be able to communicate one on one with anyone on the planet. However, I am sure that it will not be too long before our kids start taking it for granted and the subject probably will probably fade into obscurity until we translate the first signals from the alien mother ship telling us that there is a waiting period before we can start using their language or currency. (They will probably have a formal procedure to decide if we are intelligent life that deserves language and trade, or if they should gas the lot of us and make room for the alien equivalent of Disney world.)
