A description of ‘the mantle of communication ... extended around the planet’

The new perceptions afforded by the era of telecommunications may be compared to those of the Renaissance or the Enlightenment. That the world is a globe, or that blood circulates around the body, became obvious only a few centuries ago...as it now becomes apparent that all spoken and written languages form an organic continuum, a global medium for human communication and the circulation of ideas.

The continuity of communication between communities in contact has always been maintained by those who speak more than one language, by those whose brains have attempted to bridge the differences of viewpoint and expression embodied in the use of differing languages by different communities. It is only in modern times, however, that networks of bilingual links among thousands of speech communities around the world can be seen in global perspective. The ancient continuum of multilingual speech is becoming a system of immediate worldwide communication.