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I'm not advocating one global language and I think everyone should learn at least one language other than English but let's let the dying languages die. Natural

by Paul_S 10y ago

I'm not advocating one global language and I think everyone should learn at least one language other than English but let's let the dying languages die. Natural selection is doing a good job. The good ones will survive.

PeCaN 10y ago
The problem with natural selection as pertaining to language is that the language may be great but die because the culture dies off or shrinks or gets assimilated. For example, I don't consider Spanish an efficient or well-designed language in the slightest, but it's very widely spoken because the Spanish are good at conquest. Ainu is very fascinating and possibly more efficient (in terms of syllables per second over syllables per bit of information). The Ainu didn't have much interest in expansion and got more or less assimilated by Japan. Doesn't mean the language got selected against, the _culture_ got selected against. While language may have an effect on a culture's success, I suspect a culture has much more impact on a language's success. Natural selection is a terrible metric of “good ones” in that case.
- voaie 10y ago
  Agree. Culture is what makes the language more beautiful. When a small town turns into a big city, the language will gradually lose its power if everyone goes for profit without the culture carried forward. Also, like what @gkya said, if the government aggressively enforce an official language on the people, other languages will die more quickly.
gkya 10y ago
> The good ones will survive. FTFY: the ones with more speakers and more political ties attached. It's hard to say that a language is better than another one, it's highly subjective. But languages die not because they're worse, but because speaking them is a burden if you are: killed for speaking them, excluded for speaking them, there's no one to speak in the language with, you can't use it to shop or at the doctor's, etc.

by Paul_S 10y ago

PeCaN 10y ago

The problem with natural selection as pertaining to language is that the language may be great but die because the culture dies off or shrinks or gets assimilated. For example, I don't consider Spanish an efficient or well-designed language in the slightest, but it's very widely spoken because the Spanish are good at conquest. Ainu is very fascinating and possibly more efficient (in terms of syllables per second over syllables per bit of information). The Ainu didn't have much interest in expansion and got more or less assimilated by Japan. Doesn't mean the language got selected against, the _culture_ got selected against. While language may have an effect on a culture's success, I suspect a culture has much more impact on a language's success. Natural selection is a terrible metric of “good ones” in that case.

voaie 10y ago
Agree. Culture is what makes the language more beautiful. When a small town turns into a big city, the language will gradually lose its power if everyone goes for profit without the culture carried forward. Also, like what @gkya said, if the government aggressively enforce an official language on the people, other languages will die more quickly.

gkya 10y ago

> The good ones will survive. FTFY: the ones with more speakers and more political ties attached. It's hard to say that a language is better than another one, it's highly subjective. But languages die not because they're worse, but because speaking them is a burden if you are: killed for speaking them, excluded for speaking them, there's no one to speak in the language with, you can't use it to shop or at the doctor's, etc.