Aug 19 2011: Let me rephrase. What I meant was that certain languages would have to be banned from schools etc.
And I agree that language does evolve and change, and that is only natural. However, I still feel that the loss of a language is a great loss. You are effectively losing the identity of an entire race. Their absence may not be felt directly, but it always leaves many unresolved questions.
For example, take the Indus Valley incsriptions. We have found many tablets, but we still don't know what they mean. As a result, very little is known about this ancient civilization. The death of their language has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of years of history being effectively wiped from existence. Archaeology and speculation can only take you so far.
Aug 19 2011: Honestly, I sincerely hope we don't end up with only one language. One of the things which makes us humans unique is our complex languages. And I don't know about you, but I think it would be a shame to lose all that beautiful diversity.
I can speak fluently in 5 languages, and I think learning foreign languages is not only good for communication and a better understanding of other cultures, but I also feel it aids with learning everything from science to maths to art.
Additionally, no culture would be willing to give up their language. The only way there could be just one, global language is if this language was forced on others. And that would mean not only the loss of thousands of years worth of rich cultural history, but also genocide. And that is not what we want.
Jun 18 2011: Personally, I think the current generation is just as smart, if not smarter than the previous generation. The previous generation will always look at the current and think they are not as good. They will never look at the current generation and think they are better, for the simple reason that humans are no good at admitting inferiority. We like to believe that we are better than everyone else. It's part of what makes us who we are. I'm certain that my generation will look upon the next and scoff at their ignorance.
Also, when you see someone younger than you and try and imagine yourself at that age, you give yourself way too much credit. You think, "I was so much smarter than they are when I was their age. Why, by the time I was their age, I could..." The thing is, you probably couldn't. It probably took you another year or two to be able to. But your memory just casually forgets about that and moves right on.
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A reply on Conversation: Why do human beings feel the need to have a consciousness?
A reply on Conversation: Is our destiny to be one world with one language?
And I agree that language does evolve and change, and that is only natural. However, I still feel that the loss of a language is a great loss. You are effectively losing the identity of an entire race. Their absence may not be felt directly, but it always leaves many unresolved questions.
For example, take the Indus Valley incsriptions. We have found many tablets, but we still don't know what they mean. As a result, very little is known about this ancient civilization. The death of their language has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of years of history being effectively wiped from existence. Archaeology and speculation can only take you so far.
A comment on Conversation: Is our destiny to be one world with one language?
I can speak fluently in 5 languages, and I think learning foreign languages is not only good for communication and a better understanding of other cultures, but I also feel it aids with learning everything from science to maths to art.
Additionally, no culture would be willing to give up their language. The only way there could be just one, global language is if this language was forced on others. And that would mean not only the loss of thousands of years worth of rich cultural history, but also genocide. And that is not what we want.
A comment on Conversation: Is the generation in education getting less intelligent than the ones before them or smarter?
Also, when you see someone younger than you and try and imagine yourself at that age, you give yourself way too much credit. You think, "I was so much smarter than they are when I was their age. Why, by the time I was their age, I could..." The thing is, you probably couldn't. It probably took you another year or two to be able to. But your memory just casually forgets about that and moves right on.