There is always a delicate balance between letting go of history for progress and keeping traditions that ground you. I've been to countries, specifically China, that were forced to destroy their history and traditions in favor of progress by the order of Mao Zedong. The only good by-product of the atrocity of the cultural revolution is that it achieved its desired effect. China has advanced; rapidly, in many ways because of it.
Keeping in mind that I have seen the devastation of something as brutal as the remnants of the Cultural Revolution, I have actually been thinking lately of the efficacy and the benefits of a universal language. I keep on coming to the same conclusion.
While there would be a ridiculous amount of tradition and diversity lost in the world as a result, I just keep on seeing the benefits of a universal language outweighing the costs. When the benefits are such intangibles as better understanding by infinite magnitudes, efficiencies beyond your wildest dreams, or tangible things such as costs and lack of translation needs, I can't quite think of many drawbacks that really trounce these kinds of benefits.
The only drawback that I really put stock in is that it would make the world marginally less interesting.
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Rather than a universal language, I would prefer an international auxiliary language. Esperanto has been produced for that very role and has been used successfully in speech and writing for nearly 125 years. The advantage of Esperanto is that it does not replace national and ethnic languages.
ReplyDeleteI support the comment about Esperanto. Can I add that Esperanto is not only a great idea, but is now a living language.
ReplyDeleteThe study course http://www.lernu.net is now receiving 120,000 hits per month.
That can't be bad :)
Yes, I've definitely heard of Esperanto. I also love the fact that it is basically attempting a bloodless coup. I hope that it can gain steam but my instinct tells me something much more dramatic would have to happen for a truly universal language.
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