English Language and How It Threatens?

[ethics]

If you imagined a scenario where there was only one language in the world, the cultural and historical loss would be awful. It's comparable to a natural environment where all the species have died out.

Already France, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2115934.stm">Japan</a>, and <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0604/p14s01-lepr.html">Russia have made strong efforts</a> to preserve their local languages from the encroachment of English. And, on the other side of the coin, Singapore, in order to enter the global economy, has set up a campaign to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1261986.stm">encourage using standard English</a> and phase out the use of the local dialect, a fusion of various languages in the area.

Now <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3049669.stm">Danish is under threat</a> of being supplanted by English.

With globalization, Danish companies are spending more time talking to those abroad in English and some have even introduced it as the company language. Additionally, an increasing number of schools teach in English and most of the scientific articles based on research from Denmark are published in English as well. One woman said that 'English is the common language in the world' and if you are unable to speak it, 'you can't even get a job.'

Naturally, there are many worried at the prospect of English becoming the norm in every situation. 'One in six of every book sold in this country is in English. It's worrying because it undermines the Danish language,' remarked the director of the Danish Publishers' Association. 'Soon it will not any longer be profitable to publish books in Danish.'

According to The Danish Language Council, if nothing is done, Danish could disappear as a complete language in 20 or 30 years. 'Language is not merely an instrument of communication. Language is also culture and history,' said council-chairman Niels Davidsen-Nielsen. 'We have had a written Danish language for the last 1,000 years, we have our literature, we grew up with Danish, we made all our experiences with Danish.'
The council is preparing the first national law to preserve the language.

The Foundation for Endangered Languages echos Davidsen-Nielsen's concerns, 'As each language dies out, science loses a source of data that carry messages in anthropology and prehistory.' The foundation chalks up the decline and death of some languages to urbanization, Westernization and the growth of global communications.

Linguistics researcher Graham Dutfield adds, 'Western music and culture in all corners of the Earth is a factor in the love of the modern and the disdain for the traditional, resulting in the abandonment of languages that seem no longer relevant or useful.'

Is it really that beneficial to have a universal language? Would you care less if it was your language that was becoming the standard? Or, since most here are English speakers, is this a good thing and will get people of this world even more close to each other, at the very least through understanding each other more?

[Steve]

I believe that in some areas, such as international air traffic control, a single, standardized language is necessary.

For all other purposes, it's a far richer world for having many different languages and we would lose a great deal if only one became the standard.

[ShinyTop]

I think the value of one language far outweighs the loss of individual languages. Their loss has been happening for eons as the planet has evolved. I don't think we should want to stand in the way of that evolution. Instead of peeing into the wind how about we make darn sure these languages are preserved.

I, though, am opposed to English becoming the standard world wide language. I would much rather see the world begin moving to Esperanto. The language is manufactured. The tenses are much easier and would make sense for the world. Imagine if we, all the nations with schools, mandated Esperanto in schools and planned for a switch to that language for international commerce, airline traffic, etc, in, oh, 20 years.

I think much can be said for a common language. Communications if the first step of any process to get people to understand each other. What better way to facilitate communications than a common language?

Edited to add this link to the English Esperanto page. (http://www.esperanto.net/info/index_en.html)

[Snugglebunny]

On one hand, I don't like the idea of other lenguages being fazed out, (though I can't speak any, other than English), on the other hand, I do realize the need for communication.&nbsp; As far as what Shiny Top said, I like the idea of making sure that the origonal lenguage is preserved.&nbsp; Not sure about the Esperanto part, but then again, I don't know much about it, so I wouldn't know.&nbsp; *Feel free to educate me, I'm interested*.&nbsp; I will say this though, it seems that just letting a lenguage die out would be the worst thing to do.&nbsp; Evolution has nothing to do with it.&nbsp; Back when we didn't realize the value (as in historical value) of things like preserving languages, then evolution would be a fair excuse.&nbsp; We realize these things now though, and as far as I am concerned, to take a blind eye, (or deaf ear) to such an issue would be a mistake on who ever chooses to do so.&nbsp; Each culture has a right to hold onto it's herritage, and all people should have the right to go to different parts of the world, and not hear English, mainly.&nbsp; I would not want to go to Spain and hear English, or Peru, or anywhere else that does not mainly speak it now.&nbsp; Would it be easier on me, yes.&nbsp; Would it be better for me, I don't think so.&nbsp; My feelings on it are, there are reasons that the lenguages were developed, and we should want to preserve such things.&nbsp; I do not mean, stand in the way of development or anything like that, I just feel that things that make each culture unique, are things that hold high value to the human existance, and the idea of losing a language to me, is like losing the one species of plant that could have been the cure for Aids, or Cancer, etc.&nbsp; But that's just my opinion.

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&nbsp;:woopee: