If everyone spoke the same language, hopefully that language would be really, really creative. I guess the first question would be, what language has all of humanity adopted? English, Chinese, Latin, something entirely different? And would there still be accents? Ultimately though, I think the world would be a less interesting place for it. A bunch of languages have words that don't translate well into other languages. For example, German has such gems as Innerer Schweinehund, which roughly translates to inner pig dog, and is apparently for the little voice in the back of your head saying that you should give up on life and be lazy. There's also Dreikäsehoch which means three cheeses high, and is talking about height (the person is as tall as three cheeses on top of each other), not weight. While they can be translated(ish), there is no word for them. There's also many sayings that just don't come across the language barrier as well. My mom, for example, like some of the other parents people mentioned in class, had a different language (Vietnamese) as her first language. So she often says these proverbs in English, but none of us (me and my siblings), are really sure what she means.
Words: http://www.fluentu.com/german/blog/weird-german-words-vocabulary/
Even with only one language, people would still miscommunicate with others. Ludwig Wittgenstein said that misunderstandings occur because people use words to convey pictures to others, but people don't always have the same images in their minds. Though there would no longer be an language barrier, there would still often be an image barrier.
If no one spoke at all, the world would definitely be a quieter place. But though there would be no shouting, there also wouldn't be any singing. I guess people would just use sign language, but would there be one sign language, or multiple regional languages? Also, going back to the German words for earlier, would those still have a place in language?
The world would be worse off if everyone spoke the same language, because though everyone should be able to understand each other," there would still be miscommunications, and the world would be a duller place. The most important reason of all, if we all spoke one language, we would miss out on the joys of hearing Pewdiepie swear in Swedish after being scared/frustrated/surprised by a videogame.
I think if every one spoke the same language, it would be a very different language than what we have right now. That language, if it was the only one, would deb very detailed to make up for all the different connotations, perspectives and views different people had. I also believe the cultures and traditions would be very similar, since language is very influential in different cultural backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that not speaking at all would be much worse than having the same language.
in general having the same language does not seem like a very bad idea (only if the language was detailed enough), because their would be much less miscommunication, and arguments --because based on a research one of the major reasons for arguments in the first place is not the argument itself, but the miscommunication of the idea. Also people would be much more closely related making the world a more peaceful place.