ABSTRACT
The idea that English had the potential to become a ‘world language’
began to emerge as early as the mid-eighteenth century. Prior to this,
and in notable contrast to prevailing attitudes today, there was a belief
that English people had a particular penchant for learning foreign
languages. Such was this interest in other languages that there was
concern that English itself was falling into a state of disrepair. In 1766,
one anonymous commentator wrote of the condition of his national
language that:
The last objection that occurs to me at present, is, that our tongue
wants [i.e. lacks] universality, which seems to be an argument
against its merit. This is owing to the affectation of Englishmen,
who prefer any language to their own, and is not to be imputed to
a defect in their native tongue. But the objection, if such it be, is
vanishing daily; for I have been assured, by several ingenious
foreigners, that in many places abroad, Italy in particular, it is
become the fashion to study the English Tongue.
