International Language: English?

[HorizonTal]

Here I'm pretty sure they're starting to teach English as a second language even in kindergartens, and anyway most of cartoons for children, movies, books (with all their names) are from the U.S. so the knowledge of this language is spreading pretty fast.

Is English the language of the future?
Is it a nice international language?
Will it replace every other language?
are you afraid for your own language and culture?


Personally I'm not sure America's hegemony will last long enough to impose English all over the world, but I think that's a pity.
It's the easiest, most practical language I've ever known, it has deep words capable of expressing anything without any kind of complex bullshit like conjugations and declinations.
I like my own language aswell, but I would surely give it up for a global language (imagine how cool that would be!).
Mine is a strong position, I don't really care about the elegance, finesse and diversity of cultures: just think of the HUGE practical benefits!

 

[Koicheen]

Esperanto would be better. For those who don't know, Esperanto is a language made to be a global language. It is incredibly easy, far easier then English. For some reason, it wasn't "accepted" as a global language for easy communication between people of different cultures.
I, personally, don't like the idea of everyone speaking the same language. It would be nice if everyone would know English, or any other language for that matter, but only as a "secondary" one.

 

[Dark Master]

Is English the language of the future?
Is it a nice international language?
Will it replace every other language?
are you afraid for your own language and culture?

1.Maybe, but I think not.
2.Well, I like it. So, yes.
3.No. That's impossible.
4.No, I am not afraid for my own language and culture. Well, I don't like my culture so much.

 

[NoAmmoSrry]

I think when we all become old and our children have children the global language will be chinese. And i will be NoAmmo-Son

 

[Dark Master]

I think when we all become old and our children have children the global language will be chinese. And i will be NoAmmo-Son

NO! NO! That cannot be! You are liar!

 

[NoAmmoSrry]

no! No! That cannot be! You are liar!

れないのはなぜプリンダークマスター？

 

[Dark Master]

I don't understand, rule-breaker.

 

[TheHunterKiller]

1. Maybe.
2. Yep, very nice and easy .
3. Never!
4. Nah.

 

[Mechanical Man]

It's still the most practical language for programming because of short words, no declinations and almost no conjugation. It's a bitch to speak it, but in in programming you just write words, so it doesn't matter.

Still I speak some other languages better, even though I don't have much knowledge about them, but my tongue knots when trying to pronounce words (still much easier than french)

 

[HINDYhat]

Minitrue mark thread doubleplusungoodthink.

 

[Mcasdf]

れないのはなぜプリンダークマスター？

That's Japanese -.-

 

[NoAmmoSrry]

That's Japanese -.-

traditional chinese.

 

[Teh_Ephy]

Personally I'm not sure America's hegemony will last long enough to impose English all over the world

Q_Q

but I think that's a pity.

It's the easiest, most practical language I've ever known

Until you start learning how to write. Almost every grammatical rule has several exceptions, pronunciation is frequently inconsistent (three different ways of prounouncing "ough"; rough, through, thorough). Monosyllabic adjectives like "fun" or "good" can't be modified with -er or -est suffixes, but other words like "great" are just fine. The rule for y to iest (dirty-dirtiest, freaky-freakiest) is completely unnecessary, since "y" has multiple pronunciations.

traditional chinese.

It's Japanese.

 

[TheDivineBoss]

Scientists (or rather via QI) predict that over hundred years there will be a language called "Panglish". It's sick.

INTERESTINZ VIDS

WAAH, I can't find the Panglish vid!

 

[Hakeem]

are you afraid for your own language and culture?

I'm afraid for English becoming the global language. It's my native language and I don't know enough of any other language to speak with any proficiency. The language appears to me to be complete crap. It's like it was made by cryptographer. Is there any practical reason for any of the rules?

 

[leet.firefox]

I'm afraid for English becoming the global language. It's my native language and I don't know enough of any other language to speak with any proficiency. The language appears to me to be complete crap. It's like it was made by cryptographer. Is there any practical reason for any of the rules?

For the lulz.

 

[Deleted member 177737]

English is the easiest language ever... All others are uber hard to figure out... Like dutchish (no idea whats its really called)

 

[Mcasdf]

I think it's called simply dutch For me who comes from sweden, dutch and german are fairly easy languages. But french is insanely hard >.>

 

[Reaper2008]

Greek is the hardest language in the world, seriously. If you don't believe me, try saying (in greek )

i see
i was seeing
i saw
i will see
i have seen

It's

βλέπω
έβλεπα
είδα
θα δώ
έχω δεί

 

[Mcasdf]

Looks like russian a bit or is my imagination :S

 

[HINDYhat]

The alphabets used are similar, but different in many ways too. The Cyrillic (slavic:russian, etc.) alphabet was actually based on the Greek alphabet.

Russian ftw btw. <3

 

[HorizonTal]

@ Reaper2008: I study ancient greek! It's almost the same!

@ Teh_Ephy: yes, English pronounciation is really unpractical, in my language there isn't even a word for "spelling": we always read all vowels in the same way, and we can immediately read and write literally every sound we speak. But I think that weird pronounciation is a minor problem compared to the huge benefits of a potential worldwide language. Thanks to such a simple grammar and syntax, learning it is a joke, and it's the only language having the POWER, maybe, to eradicate others.

@ Hakeem: English perhaps will never be global, and surely not in your lifetime, so you shouldn't worry about your difficulties using it. At start even I hated it considering it almost childish: everything is so simple, words are so short! But then I thought of brilliant minds and great works like those of Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, George Orwell, Thomas Hobbes.
English has the dignity of a complex and ancient language and the power of a simple and fast expression.

 

[CrazyKiD]

where do u live anyway, HorizonTal?

 

[HorizonTal]

I said it almost in every thread I joined. Just check around.

 

[En_Fuego]

れないのはなぜプリンダークマスター？

Re na i no ho na ze pu ri n* da ---- ku ma su ta ---- no**
->
Renainohonazepurinda ---- kumasuta ---- no
(last name)---------------(first name)---(middle name)

*(looks like n to me, could also be so, depends on your word processor)
**(it's either no or it's a question mark, which don't exist in japanese)

did you use some pathetic word translator? that's un-readable. half of what you said is in hiragana and the other half is in katakana.

the only possible translation I can deduce from this is that you tried to translate your name, in which case, you failed.

and yes, this is Japanese. if you don't believe me, look up what katakana is and check what they look like, then compare it to your sentence.

 

[Hakeem]

For the lulz.

Damn. Your logic is flawless. Still, I think we should take the global language seriously.

English perhaps will never be global, and surely not in your lifetime,

It kinda already is.

you shouldn't worry about your difficulties using it.

I do not have difficulty using it. I lack the knowledge to use any other language. If the global language were anything other than English, I would be dysfunctional in a global society. This would be a bad thing for me. Still, I don't want English to be the global language, in the state it is currently in.

 

[TheDivineBoss]

Boy, when you think about it: No global language.

It's going to be a hard time for aliens to understand us.

Alien: <Alien language>
American: uh wtf lol?????////111

[One alien-to-human language class later]

Alien: Hello human.
German: Was?

[Another alien-to-human language class later]

Alien: Hallo mensch.
Japanese: れないのはなぜプリンダークマスター?

[And another alien-to-human language class later]

Alien: なのは ンダー.
Icelandian: Hvað?

[Back on his space vessel]

Alien: Let's go to another system.

 

[HINDYhat]

Right. Because the concept of a language is so complex that Aliens, who based on your example would have constructed a space vessel to come to Earth, could never be able to understand it.

 

[Ghost765]

english...will most likely be a leading language of the world, and might eventually become the international language. english is also the most spoken language on the internet, and german is the second, oddly enough.

 

[Saken]

english...will most likely be a leading language of the world, and might eventually become the international language. english is also the most spoken language on the internet, and german is the second, oddly enough.

You expect people to give up their roots in their cultures and abandon everything they've lived their life for? To stop raising their families in their own traditional language? To forget their ancestors and adopt our language? not ever going to happen no matter what anyone says. That's like saying world peace will happen eventually.

 

[syltman]

I hope french will become the global language

 

[Saken]

I hope french will become the global language

Like I stated earlier, but this time much more simply put; there will be no global language.

 

[En_Fuego]

Like I stated earlier, but this time much more simply put; there will be no global language.

As time goes on, traditions die.

The prospect of a global language increases as time goes by.

 

[Saken]

Eh, I still don't see it happeneing, no matter what happens.

 

[Mulgrim]

no thanks, i like each culture to their own, besides every country that isn't u.s already teaches english mandatory...

 

[Teh_Ephy]

You expect people to give up their roots in their cultures and abandon everything they've lived their life for? To stop raising their families in their own traditional language? To forget their ancestors and adopt our language? not ever going to happen no matter what anyone says. That's like saying world peace will happen eventually.

That's a little dramatic. People around the world knowing one specific language is hugely beneficial, and it doesn't stop them from speaking their native language.

 

[Mulgrim]

That's a little dramatic. People around the world knowing one specific language is hugely beneficial, and it doesn't stop them from speaking their native language.

ahem... think about it for a moment.. i can name a few flaws here and there, with the exception of war of course... but english is already the world language anyways.

 

[Megafyr]

According to my english book, 1.5 billion people know english. 350 million have it as their native language. I wouldn't really give a crap about only speaking english, because as already mentioned it will make things so much easier. Pluss, english isn't really a hard language to learn. However, I think a lot of people are to stubborn to give up their own native language, so probably we're gonna have all sort of languages forever – which I think is sad. >.>

 

[Saken]

It's easy to people who grow up learning it. It's not that easy after one is already fully grown.

A global language would kill culture, traditions, and any form of individuality, we'd all be one walking mass of English speaking people. By the way, the stats you give forget to mention the majority of those people don't even know English that well to begin with.

 

[Ghost765]

world peace will happen eventually. eventually, a New World Order will arise, and unite the world. sure it's far fetched, a lot of people might die, but it's pretty much inevitable. Just look at the european union now. once the NWO comes up, im gonna guess that theyre gonna have a single language, for easier communication and such. people will have to sacrifice for the greater good.

 

[Saken]

world peace will happen eventually. eventually, a New World Order will arise, and unite the world. sure it's far fetched, a lot of people might die, but it's pretty much inevitable. Just look at the european union now. once the NWO comes up, im gonna guess that theyre gonna have a single language, for easier communication and such. people will have to sacrifice for the greater good.

How naive.

 

[Mulgrim]

How naive.

no, hes got a point, however its happening reaaaal slowly...

 

[En_Fuego]

How naive.

you're the naive one. there's nothing wrong with have a world-wide language. no one's saying you have to only speak that language. just learn it.

 

[Saken]

Naive? Hardly.

You guys are saying what if scenario's, talking about fantasies, and envisioning things the way you want things in the world today. I'm giving you a more realistic perspective.

I agree a world wide language would be beneficial, I never said it wouldn't be, so you can all stop repeating your only point to me.

With a world-wide language of English, and then the languages today, other then English, would become sub-languages, would that make the countries that speak the sub-languages, sub-countries? Basically you'd have every country but a select few become sub-countries, in the perspective that their language wasn't the global one. Wouldn't that be humiliating to patriots of those countries? Where would pride go? No one would care about where they live, because their country was now inferior, and their language wasn't the "easier one to learn".

You gave me your views on how a global English language would be good, I just gave you the bad. Shall I continue?

 

[Ghost765]

a NWO is envitable. the EU is a step towards a World Wide "union"

 

[Saken]

And who will run this World Wide Union? Do you already trust the liars and corrupt politicians of the world? Or do you just assume the world will become a peaceful one nation once we're under one flag? We fight too often with ourselves, let alone other countries for this to even happen. Really people, stop living in a make believe world.

 

[Ghost765]

how should we know? a great man maybe? a good version of hitler? or maybe an ogliarchy
We fight, we conquer, we rule. its called an empire. but thats too harsh a term now a days.

 

[Saken]

A great man ruling a nation? Impossible.

 

[Teh_Ephy]

Saken, what an amazing cynic you are.

 

[Saken]

I only say what has been proved by countless before me. Corruption is ever-present, and there is no end to it, no end to wars or fighting. There won't be a global language, a World Wide Union. You cann me cynical, but I'm quite on the line of being cynical, and being optimistic in things. Yet you guys have to draw the line of child-like fantasies and realize the difference between reality and fantasy.

(Here's me being optimistic, but closed with the bitter touch of reality.)

I really would like for world peace to happen, I hope it does.
I really would like for all wars, fighting, and violence to stop.
I really would love to see everyone get a long.
I would love for everyone to be honest, respectful, and understanding.
I really want all evils in the world to disappear.

Yet none of these will happen.
Some seem more feasible, but people are people, and human nature does not allow this.

And another thing to mention... if the global language was English, what religion would be the dominant one?