People identify with other people on many different grounds: family, locality, religion, professional interests, even hobbies. But the group identity that has had particular influence over the past century or so has been the nation – and this has drawn especially on the identity of language. With the development of global commerce and the establishment of regional blocs like Asean, Nafta, and of course the EU, languages least associated with nationality may well be seen as best fitted to provide the requisite linkage.