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by oh-kumudo 3084 days ago
English is THE candidate. Lingua franca is not decided by merits, but by adoption rate, which makes English is only choice on the table. It is the British empire+US hegemony, since WWII/Cold War that makes English lingua franca as it is today.
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> It is the British empire+US hegemony, since WWII/Cold War that makes English lingua franca as it is today.

To be fair, it's also centuries of important contributions from English-speaking countries in science, technology, industry, aviation, literature, etc, etc, as well as, since WWII at least, music, TV, film and other forms of popular entertainment.