Final Word from Monday, September 7, 2009
Unless the U.S. becomes a colony of China, the rise of the yuan as a world reserve currency will likely be a gradual process. The same goes for Chinese as a "reserve language." Barring a sudden, major shift in world populations, Chinese will likely grow in importance but remain mainly a national or regional lingua franca. What shouldn't be overlooked, though, is the likelihood that the decline of the almighty dollar as the main reserve currency will be accompanied by a gradual decline in the importance of English. National languages will gain more stature, as will regional languages such as Arabic, Spanish, Russian, French and of course Chinese. Just as those who are fully invested in dollars have suffered large losses, those who have bet everything on English could also take a big hit. It's perhaps not too late to diversify the portfolio by investing more in some national or regional languages.[Czech Republic United States of America renminbi]
Glossary of difficult words
reserve language - (rare) a language used for engaging in international communications;
yuan - the basic monetary unit of China;
reserve currency - a currency held as a store of international liquidity;
barring - except for; if not for;
lingua franca - a language adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different;
almighty - having complete power;
stature - importance or reputation;
fully invested - having invested all of one's available funds.