When Prince William teaches his son, Prince George, to speak to royalty and commoners, the young prince will hardly imagine how powerful the words will be.

So much so — with cautions and debates underway — English almost rules the world.

William will be counting on something academics call "received pronunciation" -- an accent that some of us would still say is a benchmark of the English we should all be speaking.

But you likely don't talk the same way. And neither does more than 95% of the population of England.

However, combined with varieties of English around the world, English has the potential to become Earth's universal communication system.

A lingua franca — a working language for the world.

It is the fastest-growing language on the planet, with children in China and India learning it.

English is the medium of science and commerce.

In France, more than 80% of lecturers reportedly use English.

Planes are guided by it.

But is also, before we do too much boasting, no longer simply Prince William's English. Instead, it is 'Englishes' -- varieties around the world.

In fact, there are so many, some are calling for English to be renamed.

On Thursday, in Oxford, England, officials with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) are holding a one-day symposium — the first in about 155 years.

Michael Proffitt, a project director at OED, says they're bringing in researchers, academics and historians from around the world to chart the changes in English.

Among the conversations — to which University of British Columbia assistant professor of English Stefan Dollinger will be contributing — will be arguments from those who want to preserve English as if it were the 1950s and those who see a global evolution of Englishes inevitable.

Dollinger, who's working on a revision of the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (www.dchp.ca), believes this is the first chance of creating a true world language.

It will have little to do with Prince William's English — instead it will focus on the English used for communication among highly proficient non-native speakers. The new global variety of English, says Dollinger, will be "a truly international product and as such beyond the reach of any single nation."

The academic views the meeting as a watershed moment for experts, and as well: "For the way the public perceives English — English as a world language and all that comes with it will be the game changer."

Experts have seen an increase in not only who is using English — there are many more non-native speakers than those who claim it as a first-language — but also how new varieties are spreading.

Among the questions to come, Dollinger is asking how speakers of different varieties of English may communicate with one another, yet at the same time express their local identity.

Think of trying to have a talk with a rural Englishman with a heavy accent in a pub. Now multiply his quirks by cultures around the world, including a woman in a kitchen in Fiji or a farmer giving you directions outside Beijing.

The Roman soldier, who spoke Latin, would have shared the same difficulties if suddenly time-warped to what his language became in his home a century after the collapse of the Roman Empire. He would hear rudimentary forms of Italian and Spanish, but no more the Latin he grew up with.

Dollinger says far reaches of the globe seem to have already accepted English as the world standard.

In Malaysia, officials who feared the death of their own native tongue — still a concern for many around the globe — are now pushing English for their young alongside Bahasa Malaysia, the country's national language.

To expect English to strictly remain as Prince William will teach it to young George is not reasonable, the researcher argues. And even the new prince will speak slightly differently than his dad, as language change is inevitable.

There are just too many Englishes growing along with the new English prince.

A world language is within reach — or rather speech — Dollinger excitedly believes.

"And humankind," he points out "may never have this chance again."