English as she was spokeThe days of English as the world’s second language may (slowly) be ending The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel. By Nicholas Ostler. Walker & Company; 368 pages; $28. Allen Lane; £20. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk ENGLISH is the most successful language in the history of the world. It is spoken on every continent, is learnt as a second language by sc