4 ms·

Languages were invented as means of communication, so if all languages disappear except one it'll be tremendous boost to humanity. But once you link disappeara

Languages were invented as means of communication, so if all languages disappear except one it'll be tremendous boost to humanity. But once you link disappearance of language with words like endangered, dying, extinct, all of sudden it sounds terrible. Power of the words.

intopieces 11y ago
Replace "language" with "race" in that sentiment and you'll understand how dangerous your sentiment is. Languages are not mere vessels for communication. They also hold within them cultural histories and ways of thinking. To want all of them eradicated but one is to proclaim one language "superior" to all.
- skj 11y ago
  "race" is just how humanity likes to self-segregate. "language" is a tool used to communicate, and it would be wonderful if any two arbitrary people could successfully communicate.
  - intopieces 11y ago
    Luckily, we have technology that helps us translate between languages almost instantly. This allows people to communicate without completely eradicating an aspect of their cultural identity.
    - skj 11y ago
      I look forward to the future where this is done in a way that 'normal' people can actually use in a day-to-day setting :)
realusername 11y ago
There is so much more than communication inside a language, it carries a whole culture. If you only know English, I would advise you to learn another language, you will understand.
Afton 11y ago
> Languages were invented as means of communication, so if all languages disappear except one it'll be tremendous boost to humanity. It isn't at all obvious that it would be a straight-up boon. It would help some things, hurt others. And in a few generations, we would have dialects and languages again. It's just how brains and (by extension) communities work.
- walterbell 11y ago
  > It's just how brains and (by extension) communities work Any recommended references on this process of language forking and dialect creation, especially in the context of neuroscience?
  - mc32 11y ago
    I would think this kind of drift that used to happen when population were separated and didn't intercommunicate would happen much less nowadays. Print, physical and electronic, kind of ossify a language. How much have English, Chinese, German evolved since widespread print and education? I think much less than they did a few hundred years ago. Interconnectedness kind of promotes the preservation of the current state of a language, I think. Yes argots and memes and cants proliferate more quickly but dont seem to make so many permanent changes and when they do instigate a change that change gets diffused more widely so the language, while changing, remains monolithic rather than create a new dialect.
- derekp7 11y ago
  Would that still be the case in today's highly connected world?
Dewie3 11y ago
Everything can be looked at as a mere tool. To other people, it's more than that - an identity, a culture, a history, self-expression. It might have felt like a drag if I was forced to learn to play and listen to jazz, like in music classes. But I don't try to project my personal feelings of how playing and learning jazz feels like work and drudgery onto actual jazz musicians. Now imagine if a jazz musician woke up one day and there were no one left to jam with - just curmudgeons like myself who don't appreciate jazz. Man, what a drag.
vorg 11y ago
> Languages were invented as means of communication That's one of two equally important reasons for language. The other is to easily identify insiders in large communities. A few languages later change their primary use to inter-community communication, but those will then start to splinter into dialects to easily distinguish insiders from outsiders.

intopieces 11y ago

Replace "language" with "race" in that sentiment and you'll understand how dangerous your sentiment is. Languages are not mere vessels for communication. They also hold within them cultural histories and ways of thinking. To want all of them eradicated but one is to proclaim one language "superior" to all.

skj 11y ago
"race" is just how humanity likes to self-segregate. "language" is a tool used to communicate, and it would be wonderful if any two arbitrary people could successfully communicate.
- intopieces 11y ago
  Luckily, we have technology that helps us translate between languages almost instantly. This allows people to communicate without completely eradicating an aspect of their cultural identity.
  - skj 11y ago
    I look forward to the future where this is done in a way that 'normal' people can actually use in a day-to-day setting :)

realusername 11y ago

There is so much more than communication inside a language, it carries a whole culture. If you only know English, I would advise you to learn another language, you will understand.

Afton 11y ago

> Languages were invented as means of communication, so if all languages disappear except one it'll be tremendous boost to humanity. It isn't at all obvious that it would be a straight-up boon. It would help some things, hurt others. And in a few generations, we would have dialects and languages again. It's just how brains and (by extension) communities work.

walterbell 11y ago
> It's just how brains and (by extension) communities work Any recommended references on this process of language forking and dialect creation, especially in the context of neuroscience?
- mc32 11y ago
  I would think this kind of drift that used to happen when population were separated and didn't intercommunicate would happen much less nowadays. Print, physical and electronic, kind of ossify a language. How much have English, Chinese, German evolved since widespread print and education? I think much less than they did a few hundred years ago. Interconnectedness kind of promotes the preservation of the current state of a language, I think. Yes argots and memes and cants proliferate more quickly but dont seem to make so many permanent changes and when they do instigate a change that change gets diffused more widely so the language, while changing, remains monolithic rather than create a new dialect.
derekp7 11y ago
Would that still be the case in today's highly connected world?

Dewie3 11y ago

Everything can be looked at as a mere tool. To other people, it's more than that - an identity, a culture, a history, self-expression. It might have felt like a drag if I was forced to learn to play and listen to jazz, like in music classes. But I don't try to project my personal feelings of how playing and learning jazz feels like work and drudgery onto actual jazz musicians. Now imagine if a jazz musician woke up one day and there were no one left to jam with - just curmudgeons like myself who don't appreciate jazz. Man, what a drag.

vorg 11y ago

> Languages were invented as means of communication That's one of two equally important reasons for language. The other is to easily identify insiders in large communities. A few languages later change their primary use to inter-community communication, but those will then start to splinter into dialects to easily distinguish insiders from outsiders.