Being multilingual is something short of being cursed. Because once it gets out that you are affluent in different tongues, it changes people. It changes the perception people have of you in either a negative or positive way. Why do people assume that because we may speak a number of languages that it makes us an automatic professional linguist? I used to work at Walgreens and once it got out that I spoke Spanish everyone who used to know how to speak "some" Spanish suddenly had a severe case of amnesia. It was amazing how many calls I got no matter what department I was in because I was the resident "translator." It made me feel good at times and other times it pissed me off because almost fifty percent of the time those hispanic customers only needed the restroom opened. I had my job to do on top of handling the customers that lazy workers passed on. So should English be the recognized language of the world? I believe that if it was there would be less confusion amongst different cultures but there goes the diversity of the world right out the window. How many stories do we have about a small miscommunication with some other culture we encountered? It makes for a good story to tell your friends or family. Well, kiss that goodbye.
The world would be economically strengthened because of the interactions we would have with one another but who is to say that English has to be the world standard? Who died and made our language so important? English is one of, if not the hardest languages to learn but it is possible to have it as the world standard. The world is a small place and this global connection would make a trip around the world equivalent to walking to your fridge to grab a microwavable meal. Something special would be lost. Why travel across the globe when you can have the same experience going anywhere else? Sure the sights aren't duplicable, but the people and the food are. It would just be another brick in the wall of life. We need this diversity it keeps the variety in our life, otherwise we would get complacent and just downright lazy. The people, the interactions, the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and experiences make this life worth living. Why give up this curse, this gift of being different from a cultural standpoint? Some would argue that just because there is a global unified language that doesn't mean that we cannot have different languages. Think about that for a second. If that were true then why do immigrants to the United States teach there children, who are born here, to only speak English? Because those immigrants were ostracized for being different and having to learn English as a second language so they try to make life "easier" for there children. And in doing so it slowly erradicates the cultural landmark of that race. Their unique language becomes a thing of the past, so wouldn't a parallel occur if English became the global language?
Did you know that there’s a language known as Geechee? It’s a West African language from around the time of the beginning of slavery that was brought over with the Africans on slave ships. There are only a handful of people left in the world (specifically in South Carolina) who speak the language. I agree completely with you. I think it would be monumentally easier to pick one language and have it universally spoken, but where would our world be then? Where would the culture, the diversity, the very thing that makes us different from everyone else be if we made it “easier” for everyone else? I think about all of those people who have so many amazing stories to tell and what would happen to them if we were to make the world “easier” for people.
ReplyDeleteI think what people miss when they consider language and the vast differences among them is that they’re anything than just language. They’re stories of old and traditions passed down. They’re songs and dances and family and so many other things. Languages are anything than just what they seem. And, if we were to remove that from our world, it would significantly deplete its richness and diversity. Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I look forward to what you have to say next week.
Making English the official language of the world would absolutely wipe out diversity in the world, and this would be a shame for future generations because all they would know about other cultures is what they read in history books, they wouldn’t be able to experience them first hand. I think it is a little unfair that other cultures have to shape around us and learn our language and culture in order to truly succeed internationally, but that’s just the way it is and probably the way it will always be. I think that English is already the Global Language, maybe not officially, but it is in fact the dominant language of the world. Cultures and traditions haven’t been lost because we support cultural diversity, and that’s what makes us great. I think diversity is something we as Americans thrive on, and also take for granted. It is pretty cool that within driving distance we can get Mexican, Italian, American, French, Indian or Chinese food, no other country has those kinds of options and diversity and that’s what makes us so impressive to other countries and unique. People want to come here because they view us as and accepting and diverse nation, they feel as if they with fit in here, and be able to be culturally and religiously free.
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