English operates as an international lingua franca and the great majority of communication in English is between people who come from non-Anglo backgrounds.
Long before English became the lingua franca of the Internet age, the world has wanted a common language.
Perhaps England's greatest cultural export has been the English language, the current lingua franca of the international community.
English may be the new lingua franca, a competitive advantage for us as a nation, not least in education.
The extent of the rights which the charter conceded determined whether the town was a free town (vr je stadt - villa franca) or a commune (gemeente - communia).