Originally Posted by
Asturias56
SV has a point - but my take is that most nation states congealed about people speaking the same language - even Germany eventually. Countries with significant minorities speaking a different language have always been under more strain - the Austro-Hungarian Empire, USSR, China, the Ottoman Empire.
The UK has more than one language - it's just that the people who speak only that language are able to ignore the others. The US has Spanish now - which you can ignore if you want to but it's important. You can imagine that English might have been that language for the EU until we muffed it. Now whatever way it develops into a greater power it won't be with much influence from us.