ALL OVER THE WORLD : 1 LANGUAGE

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I cant, i cant spaeking with u all, my english it is not so good AAAAHHHHHH!! !!
Wy dont speak everyone 1 language its a salution, ehh yes!
Im here active because i have a form of autism and maybe good to learn another language!?
babeltowerevolutiontheorybiblestoneagegodtowerofbabelevolvo

Bud thats not my question, my question is better and for now and the future, that everyone on the world vanaf today automaticly learn english?

FORGET THE PAST!

I love languages. Tengo gusto de idiomas. J'aime des langues. Ich mag Sprachen.

Yes, I think it would be useful if there was a world language, but I would not want all the other languages to die. According to the LA Times, one language dies every day:

Language Extinction Article

I wish that there were free language classes for everyone, all over the world. And that everyone could speak several languages--at least 2 native ones and the 1 world language.

One language was the hope of the person who developed Esperanto.

English has become the de facto international language. Most European countries require students to learn it, even France. In Portugal students must take 6 years of English and 3 years of either French or German. Scandinavian countries all use English as their predominant educational language; it’s just too expensive to translate college textbooks into, for example Norwegian when only 6 million people speak it and only a few of them are in uni taking a very specific course. In Japan every student learns to read and write English (but not necessarily to speak it). The technology of the west makes this necessary as well as their own cumbersome written language, which has 40,000 characters. The internet is of course the new driving force but there is another which has a surprising influence on young people: Pop Music…and particularly music videos. European and Asian kids LOVE American music videos and want to learn the words to the lyrics…. many study English just for that purpose.
Of course by international treaty all aircraft and ships communicate with English.

Regarding the extinction rate of obscure languages: Most of those which are being lost are not languages is the sense that we think of language. They usually are not written languages, have no alphabet, grammar, have numerous localize sub dialects that appear to be separated languages etc. These have been coming and going since the dawn of mankind. Most are no different and have no more value than regionalized street slang found in the US or France. The effort necessary to preserve them would be fabulous. You'd have to generate and document all the features they lack (alphabet, dictionaries etc.). It's just not worth it.

I don't think that written languages are superior to unwritten languages. Kit, most of what you describe would be considered a dialect instead of a language. However, there is some disagreement over where the line should be drawn between the two. My knowledge is somewhat geographically limited when it comes to rare languages. But what about Native American languages? Many are quite old, unique, and endangered. What about ancient European languages, such as the six Gaelic languages? Some of these are nearly extinct. Older languages are important because of their influence on other languages that are more commonly spoken today. One obvious example lies in all the languages that have been influenced by Latin.

I have a cousin who spent decades in Africa working to preserve languages spoken only in small communities. But I don't know what the process involved or where the funding came from. Maybe it would be inappropriate to create an alphabet for an unwritten language. As an alternative, an oral dictionary could be recorded.

There could come a time when there are only 10 or so languages spoken throughout the world. I think that the study of the variety of languages is important so that we can understand the linguistic patterns and capabilities of humans. For all we know, some of what we learn could apply to other species as well.

that was my case too. i grew up in Slovakia (5.5 millions) and studied a course (applied mathematics and mechanics) together with other 3 students. i had to study from textbooks in English, even though i'd never studied English at all. i only had German (6 years, first at secondary school and then later at uni) and Russian (4 years at basic school, although people there don't study Russian anymore). then i've moved to Portugal to do my PhD and there i had to start using English and that's only why i can speak your language now. i am glad i was forced to learn it, it gave me freedom to travel and do my career anywhere i want...

I quite agree with you. My comments regarding what are classed as “barbaric” (e.g. unwritten) languages was directed at the claimed extinction rate of the referenced article. This rate to my mind has to do more with the number of speakers than the how it is recorded (i.e. memory, hieroglyphs, pictograms, ideograms etc.) and, as you aptly imply, their ability to integrate and thereby contribute to other languages.


A couple of other points:

There’s no functional difference between an audio dictionary and a written dictionary. Likewise for a manual of grammar. To preserve a language you must document it somehow. Someone must be able to cognate in that language and communicate effectively with it across linguistic regions…translate it.

Rarity does not equal value. You and I can create a language that only we can understand. It would certainly qualify as “rare” but would just as certainly be judged as valueless (except to us).

Like your cousin I’ve spent many years in Africa and am literate in several of that continent’s indigenous languages. As you probably know there are no written African languages. This doesn’t mean they are inferior. But it does tell you that there is little in the way of standardization of concepts, and of course ability or desire, to maintain written records. Consequently these languages are very fluid in meaning except in the most basic ways. For example a Mende language like Mandinke which is widly spoken in much of West Africa changes so frequently that that it is almost impossible for a non Mandinka to learn (other that basic discourse) and stay current in it. New manuals (dictionaries, language guides) must be published so frequently they are sold unbound to save expense. This is the national language of The Gambia!


Now consider the case of the many obscure tribal languages, mostly used by small isolated enclaves. If you were to record and document one of these languages and leave to return twenty ears later, to the same people, it is doubtful if any among them would understand you. The language you documented is for the most part “extinct”….but the people aren’t. You didn’t document a language in our sense but a snippet of it as it existed in time. It would be like speaking US street slang from the 1950’s to kids in the neighborhood today and vice versa.

Languages are evolving all the time. Look at our English. There are so few true English words in our language that it is puzzling why it is called “English.” French and German are much purer so why not call English “Creole French” or “Neo German” (I’ve ignored Greed and Latin)?

Chaucer is written in “extinct” English. But it’s only important to document and understand that English because Chaucer wrote (as in printed in books) that English and we wish to read it today. I guarantee you that if The Canterbury Tales survived only by oral means it would be related in plain contemporary English.

Oh, no! I love languages - they're great for learning and for diversity. A world language would ruin the whole point of having different languages. I guess it would be easier to communicate with everyone, especially in a remarkably multicultural area like mine, but first and foremost the other languages have to stay alive.

Chinese attempt at a universal language:

http://www.mondlango.com

no. i vouch for diversity wherever possible.

also, being able to learn different languages makes one open up mentally to different ideas and connotations. just today, watching some sports event, the german commentator talked about a special move one player did, and how said player instantly fell for "the revenge" of the player he pulled it on. the german word (rache) the commentator used was appropriate in german for the context, but always has the harsh/violent ring of revenge - as we lack an elegant word in german for something like "retaliation", which would be much more appropriate in a sports context.

on the other hand, i prefer the more complex grammatical structure of german when i have to express more complicated or convoluted things - in a structurally simpler language like english, that wouldnt be possible in a graceful form as easily. (i reallyl ook forward to learning arabic this term for even more grammatical complexity <3)

nah, linguistic diversity is as much a good thing as neurodiversity.

I've found that I can express my thoughts and feelings much better in English than in German. But that's probably just because I'm used to reading and writing almost exclusively English stuff. Constantly having to translate my English thoughts into German words when talking to someone makes for awkward conversation sometimes But there are also things that you just can't say in English.

I wouldn't give up knowing all those languages for the world. English as the "international" language is probably the best choice, because it's the easiest (of those I know ), but everyone can still have their own language or learn others. I know 4 and I'm starting to learn the 5th now (Italian). After that... hm, Japanese, maybe...

Last edited by Khalaris on 16 Oct 2007, 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

I don't think there should be a universal language because I enjoy learning other languages and we won't be able to decide on witch language we want to be universal.

yup, i experience similar things, khalaris. some concepts seem to fit best in a certain language... i read a lot of english, too, and besides showing me that i really dont think in language primarily, it also had quite an effect on my spoken language. im most happy when i can jump languages in mid-sentence and i know my partner can follow.

by the way, nuernberg is just round the corner from here (im from around wuerzburg)