Neli Urumova
A current burning issue with particular application to people from all over the world refers to providing an acknowledged international language. Although English has already achieved such a status, being spoken in 115 countries on average, there are many objections to it being the chosen one and suggestions for promoting an artificial tongue. I will consider the theoretical and practical aspects of having an artificial language as well as express my personal view.
Theoretically, the fundamental characteristic of an artificial lingua franca is neutrality in terms of history, culture and politics. English, by contrast, is inseverably bonded to the English and the American civilizations. Not only is it seen as a threat for further multiple dominance but also for many peoples it is still a symbol of one-time British colonial oppression. With my due consent, it is a justifiable argument against international English, though I believe a tongue achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role in every country. Illustratively, English is already the language of business as Britain and USA are world economic superpowers and other countries are therefore necessitated to engage in English-speaking society to have a chance of topping the competition. Moreover, as English people are leading in scientific researches, their mother tongue appears to be also the language of science. How long would it take for an artificial language to fill in the gap as fine as English language already does it?
From a practical point of view, it is generally perceived that a grammatically simple and lexically limited artificial language would be less impeding to learn compared to the rich and complex English. On the face of it, English does burden with a baggage of more than 80,000 words and a lot of grammar tenses. I dare to say, however, that learning English to a communicative level is a matter of little efforts and little time as you do not need the whole expanse of vocabulary and structures, which, in fact, hardly anyone has perfected. Verb-conjugation and noun case are nothing difficult. Furthermore, language’s richness stands for a lot of synonyms and ways to express yourself. How would a limited artificial lingua franca provide such a comfort? In English, additionally, there are many loanwords borrowed from other languages and, I guess, people already know a lot of them.
In conclusion, I do not belittle the perks of creating an artificial language, but I would rather be not in favour of approaching the problem this way. Judging by the role of English in the world of politics, media, art, entertainment, education, science - you name it, I believe it is the language that we search for and we all need to know.
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I wish you well with English, my mother tiongue, but I hope that one day you will learn and promote Esperanto.
ОтговорИзтриванеbillchapman, do you know Esperanto?
ОтговорИзтриванеSaluton el Britio! Jes, mi parolas Esp[eranton. Mi rekomendas al vi lerni gxin.
ОтговорИзтриванеThis language has some remarkable practical benefits. Personally, I've made friends around the world through Esperanto that I would never have been able to communicate with otherwise. And then there's the Pasporta Servo, which provides free lodging and local information to Esperanto-speaking travellers in over 90 countries.
Over recent years I have had guided tours of Berlin, Douala and Milan in the planned language. I have discussed philosophy with a Slovene poet, humour on television with a Bulgarian TV producer. I've discussed what life was like in East Berlin before the wall came down, how to cook perfect spaghetti, the advantages and disadvantages of monarchy, and so on. I recommend it, not just as an ideal but as a very practical way to overcome language barriers.
Bondezirojn! Good wishes!