Rick: For V.S. Naipaul fans, Trinidad will for ever be the home of

Mr. Biswas, one of the greatest “little guys” in fiction.

Current news from that island (islands, technically: the name of the

sovereignty is “Trinidad and Tobago”): The government has announced

that Spanish will become the official language of the place by 2050.

Is there any precedent for a nation voluntarily changing its language?