How we communicate

If I had to do it over again, I would study linguistics rather than a particular foreign language. I am fascinated by the myriad ways that people express themselves, among them: with specific words, sign language, facial expressions, voice tone. For kicks I will occasionally read a book on the history of the English Language or how languages evolve. I love reading weird authors that nobody (except for English majors) reads anymore like John Galsworthy or Boothe Tarkington, just so I can appreciate how much our language has changed. I am in awe of the statistics about how many words there are in English in comparison to other languages.....how thick can an English dictionary be? And this in turn brings me to my concentration on German and Spanish - not just as a subject but as a gateway to the peoples that speak those languages. And then on to a deep concern about globalization......as it leads to a slow obliteration of a defintion between cultures. I witness this on a daily basis in the classroom when considering cultural topics such as things as simple as the disappearance of mom and pop restaurants in Germany in favor of American "chain style" restaurants, or other seemingly non controversial topics. As to how this affects my view of what I teach - Sometimes I wonder- Why continue to teach German? Every year the German government spends millions of dollars promoting its language! If it is truly worthwhile, it should be able to sustain itself. Languages blend and evolve, or die out totally. Bring back Esperanto?