Shotgun Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 To be fair, most Americans hate Texans because as a collective group, they're almost as far up their own arses as Londoners. There are bumper stickers in Colorado saying "Texans go home" for example. Plus, they're to blame for some of the worst presidents in living memory. I was recently chatting to a lady in her mid-fifties who group up near Berlin. She learned Russian in school but told me that since the 90's pretty much everyone learns English as a second language due to the influence of American films and music. Although the French have worked hard to make theirs the official 'world' language, I think in another couple of hundred years, most people in the world will be using some combination of English, Mandarin and Arabic to communicate. Languages will continue to evolve and as become more globally connected, differences will gradually disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 6 minutes ago, Shotgun said: To be fair, most Americans hate Texans because as a collective group, they're almost as far up their own arses as Londoners. There are bumper stickers in Colorado saying "Texans go home" for example. Plus, they're to blame for some of the worst presidents in living memory. I was recently chatting to a lady in her mid-fifties who group up near Berlin. She learned Russian in school but told me that since the 90's pretty much everyone learns English as a second language due to the influence of American films and music. Although the French have worked hard to make theirs the official 'world' language, I think in another couple of hundred years, most people in the world will be using some combination of English, Mandarin and Arabic to communicate. Languages will continue to evolve and as become more globally connected, differences will gradually disappear. Most people hate Amercans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 ...and I'm willing to bet, 50 years from now old farts still will be composing missives to The Telegraph complaining about the insidious use of modern slang instead the grammatically correct textspk 'they' learned at school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 7 minutes ago, Shotgun said: I think in another couple of hundred years, most people in the world will be using some combination of English, Mandarin and Arabic to communicate. Languages will continue to evolve and as become more globally connected, differences will gradually disappear. Europe has grown progressively more connected in terms of trade, travel and migration over centuries. yet there are more established languages across the continent today than ever before. Some of them only became a recognised, widely used language of communication and administration in the 20th Century (Slovak; Belarussian; Ukrainian; Croatian; Baltic State languages). The idea that the surface knowledge of English gained through pop culture or elementary education will lead to its widespread adoption in the rest of the world is completely misguided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 3 minutes ago, virginton said: Europe has grown progressively more connected in terms of trade, travel and migration over centuries. yet there are more established languages across the continent today than ever before. Some of them only became a recognised, widely used language of communication and administration in the 20th Century (Slovak; Belarussian; Ukrainian; Croatian; Baltic State languages). The idea that the surface knowledge of English gained through pop culture or elementary education will lead to its widespread adoption in the rest of the world is completely misguided. I don't doubt what you're saying but I also don't think it contradicts my statement. I'm not saying that people will 'only' speak English (or Mandarin or Arabic) but that some combination of those languages will emerge for universal communication. Globally, a higher percentage of people speak English as a second language today than say, 300 years ago. As we continue to become more connected on a world-wide scale, I believe that trend will continue. I'm not saying regional languages will go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Blades Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Most people hate Amercans. Tbf, most people hate you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 9 minutes ago, Shotgun said: I don't doubt what you're saying but I also don't think it contradicts my statement. I'm not saying that people will 'only' speak English (or Mandarin or Arabic) but that some combination of those languages will emerge for universal communication. Globally, a higher percentage of people speak English as a second language today than say, 300 years ago. As we continue to become more connected on a world-wide scale, I believe that trend will continue. I'm not saying regional languages will go away. It won't, because most people do not learn a second language to a level that would pass for 'universal communication'. Most people in a given country have little need to do so (because the majority are not globetrotters meeting eleven different nationalities at a party), or simply aren't very good at learning a new language. While more people may choose English to study as a second language, multilingualism is not increasing overall. The idea that those three languages could 'combine' in that manner is laughable really. What incentive exists for English-speakers to incorporate 'Arabic' and Mandarin into their own language, and vice versa (with the exception of neologisms)? To learn an Arabic language (as it differs in use significantly from country to country) or Mandarin Chinese as a second language, will prove a solid investment for a minority of English-speakers. There is no realistic prospect that enough people will ever be exposed to languages as divergent as those in their lives however to bring about a language of universal communication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 1 minute ago, virginton said: There is no realistic prospect that enough people will ever be exposed to languages as divergent as those in their lives however to bring about a language of universal communication. In our lifetimes, no. You don't think that will change with increased global communication over the next few hundred years though? I'm not really interested in arguing the point but I personally believe global society will become more homogenized in the future, rather than less. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Remember Esperanto? That and socialism. A swing and a miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strichener Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Just now, Cerberus said: Remember Esperanto? That and socialism. A swing and a miss. Shit drama by the BBC based in Spain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Big mad Bill Shatner once did a film where all dialogue was in Esperanto. Here's a clip; And just for a laugh, here's Shatner going mental; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Oh and seemingly French is the fastest growing language and is projected to become one of, if not the most, widely spoken language in the world. https://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/03/21/want-to-know-the-language-of-the-future-the-data-suggests-it-could-be-french/#4b13beee6d58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Pretty sure Bill & Ted tackled this subject extensively and discovered Rock n Roll was the true one language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 I work for a global company and have colleagues and clients around the world. International conference calls and emails are routine. I'm willing to bet that in his entire life, my great-grandfather never spoke to a single person from Brazil, or Singapore, Hong Kong or Japan, whereas I do it regularly. We all understand each other - not because I speak their languages but because they speak mine. It doesn't seem such a radical idea to say that as technology allows global interaction to become ever easier, so will the ability (and need) of people to communicate via a common language. I'm inclined to think this will be English but it could be something else. We all know China is rapidly developing as an economic super-power. In years to come, we're going to be talking to these people and them to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 4 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: Pretty sure Bill & Ted tackled this subject extensively and discovered Rock n Roll was the true one language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Wee Villa Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 English is difficult to learn, due to the number of irregularities in pronunciation and grammar. But it's a piece of piss compared to that Mandarin mentalism which is why the latter won't take over as global Lingua Franca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Got this little running app thing. The voice was brutal (barking at you how far you'd run etc. Mucked about with some settings and it now has a French (or at least someone doing a very hammy French accent. Runkeeper app/settings/Madameoiselle if you want to try . Her saying "wow, you were fast" (even after a Nat Wedderburn-esque jog) is semi-inducing. Vive La France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 15 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: . Her saying "wow, you were fast" Do you get that a lot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionel hutz Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 2 hours ago, Richey Edwards said: If the Germans had won WW2 they would have done away with this shite and got us all to speak German. If only Hitler had thought to unify Europe through a single currency and then invade everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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