Is It Possible and Useful to Establish an Official World Language - Essay Example

24 Nov. Is it possible and useful to establish an official world language? The wholeworld is divided into countries, with each country having its own national language. Language is an essential component of a nation’s identity. Therefore, al nations are very possessive about their national language, and want it to grow and nurture. It is not unusual or surprising for a country to have its own national language, because the people share similar culture, social norms and values, trends and traditions. Culture is the most fundamental element that decides what the language of a country should be. According to a research conducted by University College London (UCL), “language in humans has evolved culturally rather than genetically.” (ScienceDaily 1). It is because of the importance of language, that literature forms an essential part of a nation’s culture. Difference of cultures among various nations of the world makes the development of an official world language almost impossible. Achieving an official world language is a concept as abstract as developing a common culture for the various nations, that differ in their fundamental ideology, religion, thinking and way of life. “Development of an official world language can be beneficial, though the concept is highly idealistic and unachievable practically.” There are many potential hurdles in the way of developing an official world language. People sharing one culture resemble in ethical standards. The ethical standards vary from culture to culture. Some people frequently make use of extremely harsh words in their day to day communication, while others remain highly formal even in their most casual discussions. Different languages have different terms to express the same meanings. For example, Urdu has specific terms that are made use of as per the level of respect one wants to show for the other person in the speech. On the contrary, there are many languages that have limited number of terms, so it often takes more than one word to express one’s gratitude for another person. Not many people would like to learn a language that would unnecessarily complicate their conversations with each other. Selection of an official world language essentially means all people on the face of Earth need to be able to speak, read, and write it. Before making such an attempt, it should be noted that not many people have conventionally been able to acquire all these skills in a second language that they have formally been taught in schools as part of their curriculum. For example, English has been conventionally recognized as an international language in which all international proceedings usually take place all over the world. Countries with different national languages commonly interact with each other in English. Owing to the huge importance of English, this language has been taught throughout the world including areas where it is not the first language. As many as 750 million people speak English as their second language. (Boyanova). Despite the fact that in non-English-speaking countries, curriculum has been designed and has been modified from time to time in order to make it most conducive to enhance English speaking skills in non native speakers, there are many students who are tentative to communicate with each other in English for several reasons. Many do not master English speaking skills despite years of effort. Others deem it inappropriate to communicate with each other in a foreign language while being in their own homeland. Young generation might feel at home speaking a non-native language because it makes part of education in schools, though others who never learnt it might have problems with its use. An individual might feel very awkward communicating with his/her family members and friends in a language, they do not feel comfortable speaking because of limited vocabulary and grammatical expertise. If a language were to be recognized as a universal language, it should be a language that does not emerge from a single community. This is, however, not possible. Countries have conventionally refused to teach their citizens a language that fundamentally belongs to another country that the first has a conflict with. They do so in an attempt to protect and appreciate their own language that is an essential trait of their culture. It is fundamentally because they think of speaking a foreign language in their homeland as an offense to their cultural values and trends. Selection of a universal language means, to some extent, an acknowledgement of the universal supremacy and superiority of the nation it originated from. When people learn a foreign language, they make use of integrative motivation which requires them to associate themselves with and be a part of the society the language originated from. (Brown 154 cited in Tang). This would never be acceptable to countries that are in the race of power and authority. Therefore, development of a universal language is fundamentally not possible. Although the irremovable hurdles in the way of developing a universal official language can not be denied, yet it could have benefited the world in a number of ways, had it been possible. Let us take the example of education. In the present scenario in which no language has been identified as an official world language, young students from non-English speaking encounter a lot of difficulties getting an admission in foreign universities in English-speaking countries for higher education. A number of criteria have been laid out for them regarding their knowledge of English, that they are supposed to meet in order to come up to the merit. Their expertise in English is judged by their scores in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or TOEFL, and in some cases, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as well. More than 1.4 million candidates appear in IELTS every year in order be eligible for education and employment outside their homeland. (IELTS). This is so because “studies have repeatedly shown a positive correlation between language study and high test scores.” (Naditz). A lot of scholarships are offered to facilitate the students in their academic career. Though, many students with huge potential simply can not avail the scholarships simply because they do not manage to score above the minimum standards set for selection. Such hurdles would be removed in the presence of an official world language provided that education all over the world is also offered in that language. However, critics may question the usability of identification of a language as official world language given the enormous difficulties it might impose on the stability of various systems all over the world. Let us again take the example of education. Number of seats available in universities is always less than the number of applicants. In the absence of linguistic barriers, it would become impossible for universities to entertain the needs of all applicants or else, universities would have to raise their minimum requirement for academic scores to the apogee. This would, in turn, deprive many capable and hard working students from seeking further education. Therefore, negative impacts of developing such a language can not be denied. Conclusion: Development of an official world language is close to impossible because it can have severe consequences on the society and economical balance of the world. There are countries where literacy rate is extremely low because of poverty. In order to teach their citizens such a language, other countries would have to contribute a lot. This would complicate matters considerably and may aggravate tension among countries. Besides, many people would consider it inappropriate to speak a non-native language because of their chauvinistic interest in their own culture. In addition to that, there are mixed views on the usability of an official world language. It can both ease and complicate matters in a number of ways. Works cited: Boyanova, M. “English - the International Language.” 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. “IELTS: The world speaks IELTS.” n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. Naditz, Nicole. “Languages Make a Difference.” n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. Tang, Ramona. “The Place of "Culture" in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Reflection.” The Internet TESL Journal. Vol. 8. Aug. 1999. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. University College London. “Language Driven By Culture, Not Biology, Study Shows.” ScienceDaily. 19 Jan. 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. Read More