-7 If everybody in the world spoke the same language, no more foreign language classes, which would be awesome. amirite?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm pretty sure this is a repeat, no because of the comments on that one...

by Anonymous 14 years ago

But then I would have no reason to learn Arabic.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

cultures would become one and we would lose part of the world that exist which would only be a sign of growing closer to one giant nation. Scary thought.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

A culture isn't sperated/defined by the language it speaks. Otherwise canadians and frenchmen would be similar, and their cultures are pretty dang different.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

both of you are right. While the words a language has can reflect on its culture, words aren't everything. For example: It's more socially acceptable to be fat in America rather than Japan because every Japanese word for "fat" is negative. However, we Americans have the word "chubby" which can also mean "adorable" and has a positive connotation. Also, one of the problems in England is how classist some people can be. They have the slang word "chav" which is a derogatory term for a poor person with a low education. In America, classism is not an issue and therefore we don't use the slang term "chav". A nation's language can really reflect on what the people of that nation find important, so important in fact that they made up a word for it. I suspect if the entire world did speak one language, geographical and cultural differences would cause different dialects and slang words to be created until the dialects were so varied we were separated by language once more.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Language is a big part of culture. If we lost that piece of culture, everything would change. Sure it would be easier, but is the hour you spend a day in foreign language really worth loosing all the fascinating culture? My answer is no.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I really don't think that works that way. A culture is defined by its customs, traditions, and beliefs, not by the language they speak.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Language is a big part of culture though. Some rituals/holidays/traditions lose meaning when translated, since not all words have a direct translation in another language.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Ah but that doesn't mean they lose their meaning. They just aren't easily translatable. A traditions meaning is in history and emotion, not in whether or not other people understand it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I agree with you in the fact that actual meaning wouldn't be completely ruined, but those words that help enhance the overall idea make a difference. Languages are too beautiful and expressive just to be torn down for convenience.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Well I agree that they are beautiful. I am bilingual, and I love being able to communicate with people I couldn't talk to otherwise, but I don't think OP was suggesting we do away with them, just speculating what it would be like if we already spoke the same language, and complaining about his language classes.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Well, I guess, had it been that way from the beginning of civilization.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Plus, French class is fucking awesome. It's pretty much the only class I look forward to.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I hate Spanish class.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Even though it's easy?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

thats the worst part abot it. sooo boooring

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It wouldn't last very long anyway. First there would be accents, then dialects, then whole new languages.

by Anonymous 12 years ago