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Universal language...there's no reason why people speak different languages anymore, they only create barriers now. In our newly technologically connected worl

Universal language...there's no reason why people speak different languages anymore, they only create barriers now. In our newly technologically connected world, our languages we speak should not be getting in our way anymore...

oakmac 18y ago
Eliminating languages would be devastating to culture. How about a software solution for translation that works perfectly?
- ddemchuk 18y ago
  Some would say that the amount of internationalization of the world has also devastated most cultures. Different dialects emerged because of regional isolation amongst different groups throughout times of historical growth. As the world is no longer isolated from each other any more, the need to persist those independent languages has lessened to the point where distinctly different dialects (alliteration?) only hamper communication. While a tool to instantly translate a conversation while two people speak would be amazing, it would have the same effect as having a universal language in my opinion.
cx01 18y ago
I think it's rather probable that speakers of different languages think different. So a unified language might lead to (more) unified thinking. I'm not sure if that would be a good or bad thing.
- DanielBMarkham 18y ago
  I believe that's called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis), which I generally agree with. A universal language would change the way people think about stuff -- it's a very interesting thought experiment.
  - zack 18y ago
    There is also a lot of evidence contradicting the Whorf hypothesis. In <The Language Instinct> by Steven Pinker, Pinker suggests that humans think with separate thought-modules and then only express the substance of thoughts through arbitrary languages. That being said, I think there is something to be said for diversity of culture, and perhaps better more fluid translation services are the true solution.
    - DanielBMarkham 18y ago
      Notice I hedged my bets with "generally agree with" The fact that the question is still open is why (in my opinion) the thought experiment is so interesting.
    - ddemchuk 18y ago
      That seems like an interesting concept that I would some day like to dive into...how do you rate the book overall?
- yagiz 18y ago
  And the flip-side of this idea is that, to really make a unified language, you have to unify people's thought patterns.
  - adelle 18y ago
    Sounds like it would be double plus good.
corentin 18y ago
We already have English.
- Hexstream 18y ago
  English is a pretty terrible language to learn when it comes to pronunciation. There are so many cases where the same syllable is pronounced completely differently in different words and the only way to know... is to just know it.
sgrove 18y ago
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Esperanto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto). It's a meticulously systematic language with a wonderful spelling system and intuitive grammatical structure. I speak a few languages, and was able to pick up Esperanto at a conversational level in around two weeks rather than the customary 6 months to a year. Plus there's the bonus of the Esperanto travel network, where people all over the world allow others who speak Esperanto to stay with them for free/cheap. Definitely recommend it anyway - and good idea.

oakmac 18y ago

Eliminating languages would be devastating to culture. How about a software solution for translation that works perfectly?

ddemchuk 18y ago
Some would say that the amount of internationalization of the world has also devastated most cultures. Different dialects emerged because of regional isolation amongst different groups throughout times of historical growth. As the world is no longer isolated from each other any more, the need to persist those independent languages has lessened to the point where distinctly different dialects (alliteration?) only hamper communication. While a tool to instantly translate a conversation while two people speak would be amazing, it would have the same effect as having a universal language in my opinion.

cx01 18y ago

I think it's rather probable that speakers of different languages think different. So a unified language might lead to (more) unified thinking. I'm not sure if that would be a good or bad thing.

DanielBMarkham 18y ago
I believe that's called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis), which I generally agree with. A universal language would change the way people think about stuff -- it's a very interesting thought experiment.
- zack 18y ago
  There is also a lot of evidence contradicting the Whorf hypothesis. In <The Language Instinct> by Steven Pinker, Pinker suggests that humans think with separate thought-modules and then only express the substance of thoughts through arbitrary languages. That being said, I think there is something to be said for diversity of culture, and perhaps better more fluid translation services are the true solution.
  - DanielBMarkham 18y ago
    Notice I hedged my bets with "generally agree with" The fact that the question is still open is why (in my opinion) the thought experiment is so interesting.
  - ddemchuk 18y ago
    That seems like an interesting concept that I would some day like to dive into...how do you rate the book overall?
yagiz 18y ago
And the flip-side of this idea is that, to really make a unified language, you have to unify people's thought patterns.
- adelle 18y ago
  Sounds like it would be double plus good.

corentin 18y ago

We already have English.

Hexstream 18y ago
English is a pretty terrible language to learn when it comes to pronunciation. There are so many cases where the same syllable is pronounced completely differently in different words and the only way to know... is to just know it.

sgrove 18y ago

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Esperanto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto). It's a meticulously systematic language with a wonderful spelling system and intuitive grammatical structure. I speak a few languages, and was able to pick up Esperanto at a conversational level in around two weeks rather than the customary 6 months to a year. Plus there's the bonus of the Esperanto travel network, where people all over the world allow others who speak Esperanto to stay with them for free/cheap. Definitely recommend it anyway - and good idea.