What The World Will Speak In 2115 Summary

Language can be seen as a communication barrier for some. Sometimes it may be difficult to talk to a customer, distant relative, or just a person walking down the street asking for directions. Now imagine a world where every single human being spoke the same language; a place where your distant relative from another country suddenly speaks the same language as you and you can begin to appreciate or dislike them even more; where now you are connected to billions of people who you can easily communicate with; where one universal language can now progress humankind.

In the essay “Last Words,” published on the first of October in 2006, the author Walter Michaels instills an idea of what to do when a language is loss. Throughout the essay, he gives examples of how languages are (and how they could be) lost. He also points out, that even though many of those reasons have been eliminated, that languages continue to go extinct. Thus, the author brings up the point, “Why would it be a tragedy if English disappeared?” Although people mourn the loss of a language, Michaels argues that speakers of the dying language should exert effort to learn the dominate one.

In Vanishing Voices by Russ Rymer, the author gives readers an in depth overview of the significant loss in the number of languages over the years. “One language dies every 14 days. By the next century nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on Earth will likely disappear, as communities abandon native tongues in favor of English, Mandarin, or Spanish. What is lost when a language goes silent?” he asks. A major argument Rymer includes in his essay is that languages are seeming to “compete” with one another. Parents children who speak tribal languages encourage their children to break away and learn to speak major languages such as English, Spanish, or

Wallraff is concerned about the future of the English language and has started assuming what would happen if English became the global language. She further forecasted the situations that may occur if everyone started speaking English. The work, research and time Ms. Wallraff has devoted to the article demonstrate her attitude and concern about the English language and its future. The article that she has written basically targets people of new generation X who are firm believer of English being a Global language ignoring the fact that other languages are outnumbering English. Besides targeting the younger generation, the article is also targeting those for whom English is not primary

According to the speculations of linguistic expert, John McWhorter, who wrote the article, “What the World Will Speak in 2115,” in one hundred years English will become the most widely understood language. If current trends continue, in the future one can imagine a world in which humans all share a single universal language. Having a common language would potentially open the doors to many opportunities for increased economic activity and cultural interaction. Additionally, as we travel into the 22nd Century, lesser used and more complex languages that are spoken today will become extinct. Subsequently, the few languages that survive will evolve into

In most cases, some people think that it is not important for them that several languages die out every year because they believe that if there are fewer languages in the world that means they need not to learn so many languages at all and their life will be easier to have a communication with foreign people. While others do not think so, which sound reasonable but ironical based on the fickle situation in society and history. Because for me, despite the adventure of being entitled as ‘absolutist’, I will consistently support that it is significant to prevent the truth that several languages die out every year.

As time progresses, foreign languages are being abandoned in English-speaking countries. This is because English is becoming a dominant language in international affairs. A common question has arisen because of this situation as Americans are left wondering what will become of foreign languages in the future. At this present time, monolingual English speakers are at a disadvantage. Being multilingual offers better opportunities in the working field and improves brain flexibility. On the other hand, it is understandable that it can be useless as English is becoming an international language and it is expected that people who live in America should know English already.

In life, there are many languages that everyone speaks. In fact, after interpreting the passage, “ Mother Tongue,” by Amy Tan, I’ve discovered many different ways language is interpreted as such as localized lingo , my own language Punjbialish, how others interpret their own languages, and how others speak bilingual , trilingual, and multilingual languages in everyday life. After reading the writer's article on her own experiences with languages it has opened my mind to the many different forms of languages everyone uses in this multicultural technological world we live in. First, i have noticed that most people have grown up learning bilingual, trilingual, and multilingual languages in their household.

One important thing I learned is that the world is expected to lose half of its languages in the next 100 years. This is particularly alarming because of the importance of biodiversity. The article refers to the fact that people speaking a certain language can hold certain knowledge that other people speaking a different

“ It could be today. It could be 100 years from now.” We have no control over it,

Ken Wiwa presents several ideas pertaining to language and culture within his essay, Get Beyond Babel. Wiwa explains that every language has a chance of dying out over time. For any language to survive through years of societal changes, it must be adapted so it can be used to embrace other cultures, new technology and new perspectives. Wiwa presents the concept that language is the same as culture. I do not agree with this concept because I believe that culture is carried by the people, not by the language.

In an ever changing world we have seen the number and complexity of languages become reduced. In a Wall Street Journal article entitled What the World Will Speak in 2115, John H. McWhorter advocates for the world to see these changes as necessary and a way for communication worldwide to become more efficient and simplified. McWhorter shows how language has been streamlined for centuries as a way for citizens to adapt rather than viewed as an extinction of culture. Modern English is likely to become the dominant language worldwide but more so for the fact that it can be easily learned and is open to transformation with the times. Despite the fears of a world where lingual diversity is reduced, McWhorter suggests that there will still be variation to promote culture and communication with people from all backgrounds will be easier. The following is a summary and analysis of McWhorter’s main points describing the simplification of language. Following the summary of main points will be a hypothetical situation in what the world language could consist of 100 years from now.

Before I talk about the future of globalization it is first of all important to understand what it truly means. From my research on the topic I feel that the following definition by the IMF is the most accurate. They describe globalization as the “growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing volume and a variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows and also through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology”. Thomas Freeman, author of “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” describes Globalization as the inexorable integration of markets, nation states and technologies to a degree never witnessed

Over winter break I watched Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. It has since become my favorite film. Scott’s attention to detail is evident in every frame of the movie. Language, or rather communication, is a recurring theme throughout the film. More precisely, Cityspeak—a language made up of German, Japanese, and Spanish—is one of the not so noticeable thematic elements of the film(being described only once by Harrison Ford’s voiceover in the 1986 U.S. theatrical release, and not at all in subsequent cuts which opted to not use the voiceover). Cityspeak highlights a key characteristic of all languages and, to a certain extent, cultures: they are inherently dynamic, are subject to change, and—in a modern, overcrowded city—are bound to influence each other. Endangered languages are dying at an unprecedented rate, new languages becoming the vernacular, and others becoming obsolete. As a result, a host of native populations are abandoning their mother tongues in order to be part of the modern world, opting to teach their children English, Spanish, or Chinese. The majority of linguists believe that endangered languages must be saved; however, the adoption or abandonment of a language by a group of speakers is a conscious choice, often resulting in innumerable benefits. Communication is synonymous with productivity. In fact, an active

Why should people nowadays see languages as a big prize? A person speaks more languages have more opportunities are skewed to him because he benefits the profit comparing to a person who speaks only one standard language. It is time for globalization and its effects on children for speaking other languages as a must. In two articles “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez and “Whose Voice Is It Anyway?” by Victor Villanueva, the two authors both expressed their opinions on native language and how the assimilation impacts a child. However, Rodriguez believed that the assimilation was beneficial for him as he had grown up in the English-speaking world and he disliked bilingual education which created many controversy.