Why English sucks as the language for international and scientific communication

I've always found such linguistic criticisms of human languages to be quite intriguing. Most are used to thinking of programming languages as "tools" (though there are persuasive arguments for them being more like materials), and consequently this axiom leads to the implication of using the right tool for the right job.

Yet we seldom see such ideas for human languages - that some could be better for expressing certain concepts than others. Is it because the huge keyword count of human languages necessitate us to desire a single lingua franca for quick communication, or is it a fear of cultural insensitivity?

For me it seems a global language strength lies, in fact, in this ambiguity, loose standards and acceptance of errors (in pronunciation, for example) - I'm thinking like HTML - it really can be buggy and still render text fine. French, German or Polish, on the other hand, are like XML - sure, it's strict and there are all these rules - but boy, try to make a mistake and it will blow in your face ;)

My, what a collection of old chestnuts. * All his bugs are features: malleability and adaptability are English's strengths. * Most languages proliferate their vocabulary to express all the needed shades of meaning, English uses Norman/German vocab to distinguish formality just as Japanese uses wago/kanji compounds. * Basic English's claim to a limited vocabulary only makes sense if you ignore the many implicit phrasal verbs that are even more inaccessible to learners that ten-dollar words are. * Relatively isolating morphology vs. more inflection isn't really a feature or a bug: it just correlates with a relative reliance on syntax rather than morphology to communicate. Interlingua is even more isolating IIRC. * Every language has ambiguities. * How is it possible to invent and impose an artificially created vowel system under the conditions where it is impossible to do something as simple as spelling reform?

Spelling reform is surely needed, but the ferst wun to spell rite shall lede us.

English has succeeded not only because it is the voice of global hegemony, but also the voice of global resistance.

International English can't happen as something people create in a lab and try to impose in the world. It comes when you have a dictionary and grammar of Standard Indian English and Standard Filippino English and Standard Nigerian English, where people are comfortable speaking English to a non-American or non-British standard. It will be pluricentric.

Indeed, flexibility and adaptability are vital to a global language.