English has captured the world. When John Adams, second president of the United States, penned the above quoted words in ‘A Letter to the President of Congress’ while on a diplomatic mission to Europe, many would have brushed them aside as megalomania, but his prediction has been borne out more thoroughly than even he himself is likely to have expected. When we turn on the news to find out what is happening in Iraq, inhabitants of Baghdad and Basra tell us about it in English, and not just because those who wield the biggest guns in their country wouldn't listen to anything else. The same holds true of Beijing, Manila, Sarajevo, Sao Paolo, Jerusalem, even Paris. From Bangkok to Budapest, from Caracas to Casablanca, from Rotterdam to Rio, English is the language of choice if people want to reach out.