In various of the newly independent countries of Africa and Asia local language candidates are appearing to claim the role of national and official languages. These languages, indigenous to the general area where they are used, such as Swahili in East Africa, are being actively promoted to assume a more important place in the linguistic life of the nation, a growth of importance which will no doubt be accompanied by a reduction in the use and importance, within national boundaries, of English. Experience elsewhere indicates that if this neglect occurs, it will likely be followed by a period of increased interest as English ceases to be a competitive threat and assumes a new role as an important foreign language of wider communication. (Author)