English language triumphalism from Paul Johnson in the latest Spectator.

The new world is going to be a world of three Great Powers, China, India, and The Anglosphere, with Continental Europe (France in particular) going nowhere, and with the English language carrying all before it.

An EU report says that French children are falling behind in their English lessons:

What seems to have impressed the commissioners is that French youth is slipping behind other EU countries in its ability to understand English, actually regressing in the years 1996–2002. By contrast, the Spanish, traditionally monoglot, are moving ahead. Under a 1990 law all Spanish children are now taught English from the age of eight, and in some regions from six. In the Madrid region there are 26 bilingual schools and colleges in which courses – with the exception of Spanish literature and mathematics – are taught in English. By 2007 there will be 110 such establishments.

Mr Raffarin, the French Prime Minister, accepts the logic of the Thélot report and will implement it. Mr Chirac, of course, being 'anti-Anglo-Saxon' to the bone, countered with a high-minded plea for cultural diversity. 'Nothing could be worse for humanity than to move to a position where everyone speaks the same language.' Really? Come off it, Jacques! While France hesitates about what to do, the Indians are in no doubt. The wisdom of Macaulay in pushing the spread of English during his spell as a legal adviser in India is now being endorsed by events. As India emerges as a major economic power, several million Indians are now finding English speech essential – indeed, among the vast numbers employed in outsourcing, it is their livelihood.

This is the kind of grandiose world-view prophesy that has a way of being overtaken by events. What if India and China both break apart (China in particular well could) and the relative political stability of Europe suddenly looks a better bet than its senescence and resulting plummeting birthrate (of which Johnson makes much) does now? What if the high hopes now being placed in the Anglosphere come to little? I like the idea of having thoughts like this nailed down in a posting, so that I can look back on them in a few years time and see how true they really were.

On the other hand, I think that this continental news site – which I commented on last night at Samizdata, at which, at some point not so long ago, they decided to do an English offshoot as well, thereby multiplying many times over their potential readership – may be yet another sign of the times we now live in.

For decades, English speakers haven't had access to Europe's leading newsmagazine. DER SPIEGEL and the award-winning Web site SPIEGEL ONLINE, with their second-to-none news coverage, rich story mix and clear, sharp European view, were obscured by an unbreachable language barrier.

Until now.

Indeed.

Tangenting somewhat, but on general topic of this blog, the page of Spiegel Online that I linked to from Samizdata also has, if you scroll down, references to headscarf bans in Germany and a Neo-Nazi teacher in Bavaria who has been resigned.