One Language Under God

By Berlyn Flake

If we were to decide upon a universal language so that all peoples and cultures could communicate, should that chosen language be English?

The World's Flags

There are approximately 6,500 different languages spoken today, and it is estimated that just 200 years ago there were up to 10,000 different languages. Knowing that there are so many different languages and dialects spoken, is it a wonder that miscommunication often happens?

Were we to designate a single language as the official language for the world, we could decrease misunderstandings between countries and help promote a sense of unity. The only problem is deciding which language to use.

Historical Implications

Before we make a decision on which language we should all speak, let's address the historical implications of people speaking different languages. Unfortunately, language barriers have been used to at times to limit people. When the printing press was invented, people finally had access to works such as the Bible for the first time ever. New ideas spread like wildfire and new freedoms were able to stretch their toes. However, even with the ability of thoughts to travel so extensively, the ideas would have been somewhat limited to those who spoke the language that was printed. Were the world to have had a universal language at that point, revolutionary ideas might have had the ability to spread more rapidly. The Enlightenment might have come along sooner and with stronger force had there been a unifying language. We could avoid similar problems by standardizing a universal language today.

Should there be an official world language?

Whether or not there should be an official world language has been under debate for some time. Many argue that by pushing for a universal language, we would be snuffing out other cultures and languages. The Hawaiian language, for example, has almost disappeared under the more common use of English. While this may be true, having a universal language would make it so much more simple when communicating with others in foreign countries. Everyone could still use their primary language for day-to-day communication, but would have a secondary language for general communication worldwide.

Deciding

English is the most prevalently taught language in the world and the third most commonly spoken. That being said, should English become the world’s official language?

English

While native English speakers may vie for their language and claim that it should be the official language of the world, this may be unrealistic. English is a difficult language to learn and tends to have a lot of exceptions to its grammar rules. For instance, the classic “‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’” rule works until you try to spell “neighbor, “beige” or “veil.” It’s nearly impossible to memorize every exception, even if you’ve spoken English all your life.

Not only that, but words that have the same meaning often carry a different connotation than similar words. In other words, they aren’t interchangeable. For example, you may come across a traffic light that is blinking. You may substitute the word “blinking” for other words and say that the light is “flashing” or “flickering,” but you probably wouldn’t describe it as, “fluttering,” “sparkling,” “glittering,” or “shimmering,” which are all words that turn up as being synonymous to "blinking" in a thesaurus.
Even in simple things such as changing tense, confusion is common for foreign speakers. You can “jump” and say you have “jumped” but never “write” and say you have “writed.”

I won’t go into all the ways that make English a baffling language, but I will say that although I love love love English, I don’t believe it should be our official language.

Spanish

I was forced to study Spanish for five semesters for my major in English. Five. Long. Semesters. I hated almost every minute of it and even wrote a letter to the dean of the English Department to try to persuade him that I shouldn’t have to take it. He basically told me to suck it up and take the classes or choose a different major. So I trudged along. While I hated studying Spanish, I grudgingly began to appreciate the fact that it is a fairly straightforward language, and consequently, somewhat easy to learn. Most of the words end in the same way so long as they are in the same tense. There usually isn’t an endless list of exceptions, which means that so long as you have memorized the endings (you have to know the verbs too, of course) you could get around fairly easily in a Spanish speaking country.

Above is an example of Spanish conjugations. It represents most of the verb endings for present tense, and so long as you have these memorized you will be able to speak in the present tense and be correct most of the time. Of course, memorization for the other tenses would also be necessary, but they are similarly very straightforward and would be easy to learn.

Travels Abroad

When my parents took a month long vacation in Europe, they anticipated that they would have difficulty communicating with the various peoples they would come across, as they don’t speak any European languages. They were pleasantly surprised that with every place they visited (with the exception of one), they were met with English-speaking Europeans who were able to take their orders, show them around, and answer their questions. My parents said that this heightened their experience because they were able to effectively communicate with the locals. Clearly, having a language in common with the people was important to their trip.

Conclusion

While having a universal language may not be ideal, easy or even practical, Spanish would be one of the more practical languages to designate as the official language. It is the second most well known language after Mandarin. English, though the third most commonly spoken language, is much too difficult to learn and is an impractical choice. Spanish would be a simpler alternative.


Image Credit:
"National Flags" via Wikimedia public domain
"Colosseum" via Wikipedia public domain
"Traffic Light" via Wikipedia public domain
"Guide to Conjugating Verbs in the Present Tense" property of Duolingo

Sources:
Why is English So Hard to Learn?
History of Language
The Invention and History of the Printing Press