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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

• 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.