Do you think there should be only one language spoken in the world?

Probably not possible. The benefits are obvious. But language is heavily influenced by culture.

For instance, in the USA ,we speak English predominantly. But if you drive,say from Florida to Michigan, you might be surprised at the difference in vocabulary and accent. If the whole world spoke one language, it would be pretty difficult for it not to morph into many different languages.

English is the closest thing now. It is the world’s most common 2nd language.

No. One of the beautiful things about language is that it evolves rapidly to express what ever is going on in a location at the moment.

If a magic wand had everyone speaking the same language tomorrow, it would be different in different parts of the world by the end of the month. Even in this day and age of internet communications, the “English speaking” world is fractured to the point we can’t understand nuance between different regions.

And, I don’t want to learn Esperanto.

Yes. German.

No. The colorful differences in language, the nuances, would all be lost.

English is the only way to go, all else is pure gibbergabber

Unbiased opinion @ucme?

I agree with @ucme even though English is not my native language. It happens that English is already the most acceptable international language in the world so there’s no reason to sustain the barrier of language between human from different countries. I like the idea but doubt its feasibility.

All human evolved from a species that utilize the same common language of the species so it is no stranger if we travel back to the way we used to utilize a single type of common language.

My grandfather spoke Esperanto fluently. He learned it in the 1920’s. It was interesting to me as almost everyone he met at work (he was a harbourmaster in Hamburg) could understand at least part of what he was saying. Now, most people he met were European or North American, so that made things easier. In my late teens, I used to look at his texts and learned enough to get by – now I’ve lost pretty much all of my ability to use it.

Of the languages I’ve learned, I’d probably go with Dutch (if Esperanto isn’t allowed) if I had to pick a universal language. I found it easiest to learn and, like Esperanto, it borrows enough from other languages for others to pick out words fairly easily.

It is the direction we are heading As the article says, if things continue at the current rate, half the world’s languages will disappear by the end of the century. Due to the high level of communication, the remaining languages may come to resemble each other even if they remain distinct. Languages may tend to share new words in common that take the place of older words.

@MrGrimm888 Yep, not the only one though, correct nonetheless

Non merci. We need more diversity, not less. Cultural purity is just as debilitating as racial purity.

I respect your bluntness @ucme. I imagine others do as well.

I know some Spanish,some German. I would love to know more. One of my sisters is half Puerto Rican, and when she talks really fast in Spanish I can’t understand a word.

I’d be ok with learning more languages. My country didn’t prioritize it in school, like most countries do. I know I could try and learn a language on my own, but it’s hard if you can’t speak it with people who naturally speak it.

I met a man once in travel who was fluent in 9 languages, and learning a 10th. He was from Belgium, but was born in Morocco.

A single language wouldn’t hurt. But the world gets along fine with the diversity it currently enjoys.

A single unit of measurement would be more useful.

No.

We lose one language on earth every 14 days. That is so, so sad to me.

We lose worse than languages…..

Like what @MrGrimm888?

No matter which language we pick, I’d go with the Korean Character Set. Hangul. You can combine the 24 or so characters, (14 consonants and 10 vowels) to perfectly pronounce anything in any language. They can even distinguish between dialects. It is expandable and consistent from reader to reader. It is so simple you can learn to read in one day! Brilliant!

Yes, Esperanto.

I wonder if sign language is different around the world.

I think Latin is a good compromise. It’s new for everyone but the Pope, but is the root of so many languages that are spoken worldwide that it’s the obvious choice.

No. Different languages frame and express thoughts in different ways, both semantically and audibly, as well as poetically. There is great value in having all those forms of expression.

Language also ties in with culture, history, art and literature, and all of those things offer great value in their diversity as well.

Making everyone and everything the same decreases the interestingness and the possibilities of the world, and decreases the number of ways people are able to live. The more everything becomes similar, the smaller and poorer our world is.

@RedDeerGuy1 Sign languages differ a lot across nations.

@Dutchess_III I know that feel. It is heartbreaking to know that.

@Zaku You know what’s up.

I was discussing this with my hairdresser today. I told her I thought it was a shame that most Americans can only speak one language, but the in other countries many, many people speak their own language AND English.

όχι, ei, no, nein, нет

@RedDeerGuy1 Sign language IS different around the world. I’ve seen three different sets in the three different countries I’ve lived in.

We need (and have for the most part) a second common language. Language is too culturally important to simply erase from a country.

Dutchess, I was referring to losing animal and plant species at an alarming rate. The rainforests, the oceans etc.

I’d trade 1000 languages for the bees to get better. We need them and their dying.

Anyway. I won’t pollute this thread with off topic banter.

Leaving aside the implausibility of enforcing such a dictate, it wouldn’t last. Soon enough, usage and popular expressions (slang) would diverge, and in a generation, people would be on the way to speaking different dialects, and eventually, different languages.