Is the world en route to becoming a linguistic colony of the United States? Or is this dramatic view an exaggeration, and there is no danger to linguistic diversity at all? The German language is at the center of an intensive debate on this issue. Its position in the world is under increasing pressure due to the growing importance of (American) English as the language of globalization.The articles in this volume deal with the national and international position of German in relation to English, language policies, the future of German as a language of science, German in the USA, and the intellectual and aesthetic dimensions of encountering a foreign language. They present critical assessments addressing the dangers for the future of languages other than English, as well as positions which perceive the growing importance of English as a challenge and resource rather than as a threat. FROM THE CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION BERND HÜPPAUFGlobalization – Threats and OpportunitiesGLOBALIZATION AND LANGUAGEDAVID CRYSTALThe Past, Present, and Future of World English ROBERT PHILLIPSONEnglish as Threat or Resource in Continental Europe HANS JOACHIM MEYERGlobal English – A New Lingua Franca or a New Imperial Culture? RUDOLF HOBERGEnglish Rules the World. What Will Become of German? PETRA BRASELMANNLanguage Policies in East and West. National Language Policies as a Response to the Pressures of GlobalizationTHE IMPACT OF ENGLISH ON THE VOCABULARY AND GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF GERMANPETER EISENBERGGerman as an Endangered Language? HERMANN H. DIETERDoes “Denglish” Dedifferentiate our Perceptions of Nature? The View of a Nature Lover and Language “Fighter” INTERNATIONALIZING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYULRICH AMMONGerman as an International Language of the Sciences – Recent Past and Present KONRAD EHLICHThe Future of German and Other Non-English Languages for Academic CommunicationLANGUAGE AND IDENTITYWOLFGANG THIERSEThe German Language and the Linguistic Diversity of Europe ANDREAS GARDTLanguage and National Identity JOSHUA A. FISHMANYiddish and German: An On-Again, Off-Again Relationship – and Some of the More Important Factors Determining the Future of Yiddish DAVID L. VALUSKA AND WILLIAM W. DONNERThe Past and Future of the Pennsylvania German Language: Many Ways of Speaking German; Many Ways of Being AmericanGERMAN IN THE USANIKKY KEILHOLZ-RÜHLE, STEPHAN NOBBE, AND UWE RAULanguage Policies of the Goethe-Institut JOHN LALANDE IIThe Kulturpolitik of German-Speaking Countries in the USA ROBERT C. REIMERSelf-Inflicted Wounds? Why German Enrollments are Dropping HELENE ZIMMER-LOEWMeeting the Challenge: The Future of German Study in the United States PETER WAGENERGerman in Wisconsin: Language Change and LossLANGUAGE AND THE CREATIVE MINDPRISCA AUGUSTYNThe Seductive Aesthetics of Globalization: Semiotic Implications of Anglicisms in German YASEMIR YILDIZCritically “Kanak”: A Reimagination of German CultureJOHN M. GRANDIN Globalization: A Look at the Positive Side