Lingua Franca?

The news here has been rightfully dominated by the impending (or ongoing?) Euro zone crisis. Some have proclaimed the end of the Euro currency as we know it, others say that the dollar itself is in trouble. As the debate rages on about whether all currency should be pegged against U.S. Dollar (i.e., Bretton-Woods), I began having a set a of experiences that made me think: Are all languages pegged to English the way that all currencies are pegged against the U.S. Dollar?

It was not so long ago that France was the notorious last holdout against the barrage of English-speaking hegemony. However, it seems that, even in France, English is starting to become the vernacular of the masses. From waiters to taxi drivers to people at my outdoor market, the slightest hint that you do not understand is reason enough to start speaking English regardless of your race or national origin. Two recent experiences serve to solidify this

Case Example 1
I recently ventured into one of the Paris Chinatowns. As all happy families are alike, so too are all Chinatowns. While certain brands may vary, and the produce may inherits a distinctly local flavor, at the end of the day, Chinatown (SF) is Chinatown (NYC) is Chinatown (Paris). It is thus with confidence that I made my way into Tang Frères, a veritable emporium of all things Asian and edible. Lost in the labyrinth of aisles as I looked for sesame seeds, I approached a Chinese youth who I assumed spoke Chinese.

He did not speak Chinese -- and I didn't know the French word for "sesame." He took out his iPhone and asked me to write it out in Chinese. After some deep breathing to retrieve the characters from the recesses of my mind, I managed to scribble something that his iPod recognized as Chinese. Suddenly, the word "sesame" popped up --- in English! He looked at the word and without hesitation directed me to another aisle.

Chinese to French via English.

Case Example 2
My barber is Japanese, and although he speaks French, it is so heavily accented he might as well be speaking Tagalog as far as I'm concerned. I speak Japanese, but really, I don't like to let Japanese people know that because (1) it's been a really long time, and (2) I don't want them to feel too comfortable speaking with me....

One day he asked me about my vacation to Provence and the following ensued:

Him: Did you go to the sea? ("la mer")
Me: My mother? ("ma mère")
Him: No, the sea ("la mer")
Me: [puzzled look coupled with look of abject fear that I didn't understand something I should have]
Him: (in English) The sea [NB: really, more like "za shii"]
Me: OH..... (in Japanese, because this farce was tiring) the sea ("umi")

French to Japanese via English

So, will English become, or is it already -- ironically -- the lingua franca? Maybe. In the meantime, I'll keep my French up.