Future of Language

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- TheDashingRabbit
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OP - October 31, 2014, 10:55 PM

So lately I've been thinking about this.

With globalization will humans all across the world eventually speak just one language ?

With all other regional languages dying out.

We are already seeing this with the internet where across the world people are using english on the web even if they speak another language in their day to day life.

In my opinion a life without curiosity is not a life worth living
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Reply #1 - October 31, 2014, 11:09 PM

There is a possibility , but tbh I dont like the sound of it (I wont be alive by then anyway lol). Languages are awesome and each language has certain unique characteristics.

Just imagine a world of the same colour.
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Reply #2 - November 01, 2014, 03:29 PM

People can keep their languages but English should be promoted as a universal language. It would be wonderful if all humans had a common language to speak, and English is best suited at this point.
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Reply #3 - November 01, 2014, 03:32 PM

True. English is the Lingua Franca of the World.

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Reply #4 - November 01, 2014, 03:39 PM

Quote from: Descent on November 01, 2014, 03:29 PM
People can keep their languages but English should be promoted as a universal language. It would be wonderful if all humans had a common language to speak, and English is best suited at this point.

English is a very multicultural language too. It's been influenced by former colonies and occupiers alike.

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Reply #5 - November 01, 2014, 04:08 PM

Too much linguistic imperialism going on in this thread.

The future of English as a lingua franca (which it both is, and isn't, at the moment) is a bit complex since you have so many different varieties of English, both standardized and non-standardized ones.

Anyway, it is impossible for one global language to emerge and mass-extinction of all languages without involving repression and totalitarian ideas.

I'd recommend you to read up a little on the Saphire-Whorf hypothesis in order to broaden your views on the topic.

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Reply #6 - November 01, 2014, 04:19 PM

A lingua franca is in my understanding an intermediary language, so not much linguistic imperialism - or perhaps rather linguistic supremacism - in itself.

The reference was also a bit tongue-in-cheek because the term is Italian and refers to French.

I really suck at foreign languages but English is what has enabled me to have contacts all over the world now. Which is great

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Reply #7 - November 01, 2014, 06:02 PM

Quote from: Cornflower on November 01, 2014, 04:08 PM
I'd recommend you to read up a little on the Saphire-Whorf hypothesis in order to broaden your views on the topic.

Bookmarked the hypothesis for later reading.

It doesn't necessarily have to be English but I just think that having one global language is inevitable.

In my opinion a life without curiosity is not a life worth living
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Reply #8 - November 01, 2014, 06:35 PM

No, rather impossible if you don't live in a dystopia with an extremely reduced population. This is also where the linguistic imperialism comes in, we've already have plenty of it.

Lingua franca has always existed, in today's globalized world the lingua franca can include a larger demographic. But English is far from becoming the one and only lingua franca.

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Reply #9 - November 01, 2014, 07:10 PM

This is an interesting article on the extinction of languages

http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/EP143A.pdf

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Reply #10 - November 01, 2014, 07:46 PM

Yeah, languages of the world have been dying out steadily, roughly 4000-6000 are left. But there's a difference between reduced number of languages spoken in the world, and mass extinction with only one global language. Not even English has one standardized universal variety, and it never will especially how things are going now.

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Reply #11 - November 01, 2014, 07:53 PM

Interestingly areas with more species have more languages than areas with less languages. This us due to divisions causing splitting of evolutionary lineages due to geography with dimorphic evolution. Same with language evolution.
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Reply #12 - November 02, 2014, 01:17 AM

Quote from: Descent on November 01, 2014, 03:29 PM
People can keep their languages but English should be promoted as a universal language. It would be wonderful if all humans had a common language to speak, and English is best suited at this point.

There is no need to promote English. People all over the world are learning English because they want to.

English is a unique language. Only about 25 to 30% of words in English are “English”. English language "stole" 70% of its words from the languages the English people came in contact with.

There are many words from Indian languages which are part of English lexicon. For example: Bungalow: from Bengali word bangle. Cummerbund: from Hindi words kamar (कमर) for waist and bund (बन्द) for tying. Serendipity: from Sanskrit words swaran (स्वर्ण) for gold and dweep (द्वीप) for island. There is an interesting story behind this word. There is an island off Sri Lanka called Swarnadweep (स्वर्णद्वीप) meaning Golden Island When English landed on the island they were enchanted by its immense beauty. I don’t need to explain the mean of the word serendipity.

Most of the words related to government and diplomacy are of French origin – even the word government. The words ending with ‘tion’ are of French origin. School, sky, ski are Swedish words. Practically all scientific and medical terms are of Greek and Latin origin. There are many words of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and African origin.

We all know about the peculiarity of English pronounces and spelling. This applies to the words ‘stolen’ from the languages written in Hellenic, Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The pronounciations are anglicized without changing the original spelling of the source languages. Thus we het the words which are pronounced the same but spelled differently. And spelled the same way but pronounced differently.

वासुदैव कुटुम्बकम्
Entire World is One Family
سارا سنسار ايک پريوار ہے
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Reply #13 - November 02, 2014, 01:32 AM

Quote from: INcePtion on October 31, 2014, 11:09 PM
There is a possibility , but tbh I dont like the sound of it (I wont be alive by then anyway lol). Languages are awesome and each language has certain unique characteristics.
Just imagine a world of the same colour.
Nahh

I agree 100%. The languages are both, the reflection and moulder of cultures. Each language has its pecularity. Sadly, many spoken languages of tribal poeple in Americas, Indian sub-Continent, Africa, China, South East Asia are going to be extinct - with that disappearing of different cultures, the loss of diversity. Many languages spoken by the aboriginal Indians of Americas are already extinct and the majority will be gone by the end this century. Only the major languages which are spoken by more than 100 million or so will remain. Today there are about 7000 languages neing spoken in the world - 90% are destined for extinction.

वासुदैव कुटुम्बकम्
Entire World is One Family
سارا سنسار ايک پريوار ہے
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Reply #14 - November 02, 2014, 01:32 AM

Quote from: Ram on November 02, 2014, 01:17 AM
There is no need to promote English. People all over the world are learning English because they want to.

English is a unique language. Only about 25 to 30% of words in English are “English”. English language "stole" 70% of its words from the languages the English people came in contact with.

There are many words from Indian languages which are part of English lexicon. For example: Bungalow: from Bengali word bangle. Cummerbund: from Hindi words kamar (कमर) for waist and bund (बन्द) for tying. Serendipity: from Sanskrit words swaran (स्वर्ण) for gold and dweep (द्वीप) for island. There is an interesting story behind this word. There is an island off Sri Lanka called Swarnadweep (स्वर्णद्वीप) meaning Golden Island When English landed on the island they were enchanted by its immense beauty. I don’t need to explain the mean of the word serendipity.

Most of the words related to government and diplomacy are of French origin – even the word government. The words ending with ‘tion’ are of French origin. School, sky, ski are Swedish words. Practically all scientific and medical terms are of Greek and Latin origin. There are many words of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and African origin.

We all know about the peculiarity of English pronounces and spelling. This applies to the words ‘stolen’ from the languages written in Hellenic, Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The pronounciations are anglicized without changing the original spelling of the source languages. Thus we het the words which are pronounced the same but spelled differently. And spelled the same way but pronounced differently.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Adventure-English-Melvyn-Bragg/dp/0340829931

a good book about that very thing!
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Reply #15 - December 08, 2014, 01:49 AM

I love languages, I hope everyone does not end up speaking English, no fun for me. I have lived in Spain and south America in order to learn Spanish. I am now learning French.
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