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particularly after a UN proposal in 1966 for it to be accepted as an official 
international language failed. It is, however, a language choice offered by 
Google, Skype and Facebook, but the number of fluent Esperanto speakers 
has declined.
Within the EU there have been at least two attempts to develop a single 
European language. In 1999, Diego Marani, an EU translator, developed 
‘Europanto’, a strange mixture of European languages as the linguistic answer 

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The International Use of English 69
to the single European currency. It did not really take off, nor did another 
attempt with a language called ‘Globish’, a simple, pragmatic form of English 
developed by Jean- Paul Nerriere, a former Vice President of IBM. His two 
books, Don’t Speak English, Parlez Globish and Découvrez le Globish, sold well in 
France and were also published in Spain, Italy, Canada and even South Korea. 
Globish involves a limited vocabulary of 1,500 words, short sentences, no idi-
omatic expressions and a large number of hand gestures. It aims to replace the 
complexity of English and is also recommended for native English speakers.
 Off- shore English
The colloquialisms and idioms frequently used by native English speakers 
often confuse their trading partners. As a result, there has been an increase 
in the development of a simplified form of English which can be acquired 
more easily for use in international business. This is called ‘ 
off- shore 
English’ and for foreigners requires less investment in terms of time and 
effort than learning a complete foreign language. It concentrates on help-
ing non- native English speakers make the most impact in English with a 
relatively limited vocabulary for practical use in business. At the same time, 
it aims to encourage native English speakers to modify their own use of the 
language to ensure greater understanding by foreigners. This approach is 
expanded in Guy and Mattock (1991). It has the additional advantage that 
it can continue to evolve and assimilate changes in usage and newly- coined 
words. Guy and Mattock (1991: 134–5) propose the following criteria for 
validating an international language:
easy to learn;
relatable to other mother tongues;
contains a rich range of functions;
is standardized.