Should there be a universal language that we can all learn to speak?

Answer 1

Why not? Someone have make a try, L.L. Zamenhof and his language is still spoken in different places of the world, it is called the esperanto.

Look a the source here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto

Answer 2

The idea of a single common planetary language, especially if it is arbitrarily chosen, would be next to useless. Each linguistic group would resent the fact that any other language was forced on them, and NOBODY would agree on ANY language since they would all want the prestige of their own language being chosen.
Esperanto is making headway in becoming a world wide AUXILIARY language, yet people reject it out of hand because they all fear the loss of their tongue and a single language spoken by all, which is exactly what Esperanto is trying NOT to do.
Esperantos' purpose is to provide a common SECOND language so that you and you and you don't need to sink years into study of a language that you will most likely never FULLY assimilate like a native. With Esperanto you can be comfortable talking to your neighbour in your native tongue and just as comfortable talking to Ming Lu across the waves on an equal footing in this easily learnt language.
So will it some day become universal (which by the way doesn't mean that EVERYBODY in the world speaks it, just those that want it / need it to communicate internationally)?
Well, the $600 million USD spent yearly on translation services at the UN and likewise in the EU says, sooner or later something is going to change, and this is the cheapest and most effective (proven) alternative.
In short... YES, there should be a common universal AUXILIARY language.
Research and draw your own conclusions.

Gxis!

Answer 3

Yes and no.
YES because of language's power to communicate news, information, theories, and ideas. If we can break down language barriers, information can permeate all areas and disseminate throughout the world that much quicker.
NO because if the "Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis" is correct (stating that language frames culture), then cultures would be perverted as the world language begins to dominate an area. No one should be forced to give up their language, though a universal second language for all would be better.

In our arrogance, a lot of us think that English is the perfect candidate for a world language because so many people speak it. However, it lacks logic in prepositions, it's spelling system is WHACK, it's grammar is rather complicated, and it carries an alleged culture of self-centered materialism and sexism (according to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis) that isn't accommodating to all world cultures.

There is a language that was created in an attempt to be void of any culture except logic, it's called Lojban. It uses a completely unambiguous grammar that simplifies while requiring logical speech at all times. The creators took the five most common lingua-francas (Chinese, Arabic, English, Spanish, and Russian) and mixed words together to create Lojban's vocabulary so that it would be easiest to learn for all people of the world. It's really quite something, however far fetched it be to teach a planet one language.
And of course, I think that every area ought to retain it's native language, but be required to learn a world language as a second language too, so that they can communicate without barrier.

There's also Esperanto, but the structure, grammar, and lexicon are all Eurocentric. I see Lojban as a better alternative, but it's not in direct competition. In fact, many who speak Esperanto support and have proven effective in preaching the gospel of Lojban.

Answer 4

Yes , good idea . Second language in all the schools of the world .
But the question is : should we create a new language , or we use one of the languages of the world .

Answer 5

There is.

It's called ESPERANTO. It's a universal language and the quantity of people who use it is growing. It's very easy to learn. And you can always encourage people to learn it.

Try it out. It's fun.

Answer 6

Worldwide? Wont happen. We are having great difficulty in establishing English as the tried and accepted language of the U.S.

Answer 7

Unfortunately we have one now, and it's English. I say unfortunately because it is not an easy language to learn, and its spelling is perhaps the most difficult of anything outside of China.

Answer 8

Yes. English.

Answer 9

When Jesus Christ returns He will teach us this language and we will all speak one language once again.