I ONCE visited a tiny town in the far west of Japan called Wakura Onsen where - I'll swear - not a single person spoke any English. In terms of language the most comforting sign was Coca Cola.
Nothing else made sense. Everything else was written or spoken in Japanese. We were reduced to body language, sign language and even crude sketches on paper. 
That is not a criticism of the Japanese for not speaking English. But two days and a night in Wakura Onsen was a world without verbal communication. We spoke to no one. Our Japanese was so minimal and basic it was embarrassing. We were made to feel welcome yet we lived in silence.
Wakura Onsen is, by Asian standards, isolated. It is on a remote peninsula in a region of Japan which has been unspoiled by international tourism. Our tourist agent in Japan had never been there.
Wakura Onsen exists because of its hot springs. Every day (perhaps for the past 10,000 years), underground springs pump out two million litres of boiling water.
Every hotel, shop, business and house receives hot water piped from the springs. People bath in the hot water and boil eggs in fountains in the town square.
I am reminded of Wakura Osen because Saturday was International English Language Day and William Shakespeare's 452nd birthday. And by coincidence Wednesday is International Chinese Speaking Day.
It is estimated that of the 7.2 billion people in the world 1.5 billion - roughly 20 per cent - speak English (375 million as their native tongue). Another 1.1 billion speak Chinese, 982 million as their first language.
Then comes Spanish 650 million, Hindi 630 million, French 370 million, Arabic 300 million and Russian 235 million.
So English is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is the primary language, used in government and the public service, in 94 countries or territories. With French it is the official language of the United Nations and the European Union.
Presumably anyone reading this can speak and read English. English is the dominant first language in Australia. An estimated 240 languages are spoken in Australia and in roughly 16 per cent of households English is not the first language. But in a survey of 28 OECD countries Australia had the smallest percentage of bilingual people.
So spare a thought, for a moment, for the tens of thousands of people in Australia who cannot speak English. They may be new arrivals from Asia, the Middle East, Africa or Europe. They may have come as free migrants or refugees.
There is little value, in Australia, in being literate, even at tertiary level, in for example Urdu, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Nepalese or Portuguese if you cannot speak English. Few except family or ethnic friends will understand or care.
To non-English speakers Australia is largely a land of silence. How do people travel, shop, carry out basic commercial arrangements, seek welfare assistance or employment, get access to news and information or find accommodation?
As we found at Wakura Onsen, a world without communications can be expensive. You cannot seek cheaper options for food, clothing, transport or accommodation because there's no one to ask and no way of asking. For many people International English Language Day is just another day of silence and confusion. For some Coca Cola might be a sign of comfort.
Most of us take for granted the benefits of reading, speaking and comprehending English, yet in a way it is a privilege. It makes life in Australia relatively easy. We are the fortunate majority. For those of us who do, English Language Day is worth acknowledging.But remember, and perhaps offer assistance to, those around you who have not yet embraced the basics of English.