Discussion of Whether The World Would Be Better if We Spoke Fewer Languages

Introduction

In this era of globalization and modernization, there are a lot of new and amazing technological products that have been invented, such as smartphones and the Internet, which make our lives more comfortable. These innovations have shortened the distance among people and stimulated the growth of the worldwide economy. With the aid of these products, trade is no longer limited to a certain region, and international trade has played a pivotal role in the economic growth of countries. Therefore, the ability to communicate with others from different nations has become an important skill for employees entering the global marketplace. Some people argue that if more people around the world spoke fewer languages, such as a "big language" instead of other "small" languages, it would enhance global communication, eliminating language barriers. In this essay, I stand on the opposite side, asserting that the world would not be better as we expect if we spoke fewer languages, and I will discuss the reasons supporting my stance.

Cultural Identity and Heritage

Speaking fewer languages would cause some of us to lose our cultural identity and connection with our ancestors. Language is a carrier of culture and expresses its own cultural and historical elements. For example, in Chinese, we have many surnames, each with its own history. The surname '符' exists because their ancestor was a general who commanded the army with the commander's seal (represented as '兵符' in Chinese). This example shows that language is a bridge linking us with our ancestors and carrying a wealth of historical information. Furthermore, language is also a symbol of our cultural identity. If we do not speak our languages, we risk losing our cultural identity and sense of belonging to the same cultural group. Without this strong sense of belonging, uniting to create a brighter and better future becomes difficult. If we were to speak fewer languages, we would overlook the living nature of other languages and might develop a sense of prestige among them. This contradicts the quote "All men are created equal," a principle we strive to uphold to ensure fair treatment for everyone. In the 1960s, the Chinese in Malaysia encouraged their children to study Mandarin by building Chinese independent schools and hosting public examinations, despite facing obstacles such as lack of government funding and attempts to prohibit their efforts. Why did they persist in establishing their education system, even though this qualification is not certified by the Ministry of Education Malaysia? They aimed to preserve their cultural identity despite adverse circumstances. Thus, speaking fewer languages would lead to the loss of cultural identity and sense of belonging, which would not help the world become better.

Cognitive and Analytical Skills

If we spoke fewer languages to achieve higher communication efficiency, the world would not be better as we hope. Speaking more languages enhances people's analytical and cognitive skills compared to those who speak fewer languages. Our brain, much like muscles, needs exercise, or our cognitive ability will diminish. Learning a new language requires memorizing new rules and vocabulary and becoming familiar with them. This process demands attention, strengthening our brain. Consequently, people who learn more languages are less easily distracted and have enhanced cognitive skills. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis proposes that different languages encode different categories, leading speakers of different languages to think about the world in unique ways. Hence, speaking more languages allows us to think from different perspectives, aiding in making informed decisions. Our cognitive abilities and analytical skills are boosted through learning new languages. A study compared the age of onset of symptoms in 91 monolingual and 93 bilingual patients diagnosed with dementia. Under similar conditions, the age of dementia onset for bilinguals was four years later than for monolinguals—a significant difference (Bialystok et al., 2007). Speaking more languages can delay dementia and reduce the budget for social security care. Furthermore, speaking more languages stimulates economic growth by providing a large labor force with higher cognitive skills, analytical thinking skills, and language skills. Speaking fewer languages would not lead to a better world, but speaking more languages does.

Global vs. Local Communication

If we spoke fewer languages, opting for a "big" language, the goal of enhancing global communication might not be achieved. Global communication is defined as communication practices occurring across international borders. As social animals, humans need to communicate and cooperate with others to fulfill psychological and social needs. Today, we communicate across international borders with populations that speak different languages and come from diverse cultural backgrounds using a "big" language because our desires cannot be met solely by our immediate population and environment. According to Abraham Maslow's Need-hierarchy theory, our needs are categorized into five types: psychological needs, safety needs, love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization. Our motivations stem from these needs. Once all our needs are gratified, we lose the motivation to act. If people spoke fewer languages, our population might become large enough to meet our needs, leading to a lack of motivation to interact across borders with different populations. Therefore, local communication might prevail instead of global communication if we spoke fewer languages. According to the Eurobarometer report 2012, only 39% of the French population can speak English, possibly because French is already a major language spoken by a large population, satisfying their needs (European Commission, 2012). From this example, we can deduce that speaking fewer languages might lead to a lack of motivation to engage with others. Thus, the goal of speaking fewer languages to enhance global communication cannot be achieved, and local communication will prevail instead.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, speaking fewer languages might seem desirable for enhancing global communication, allowing for the exchange of views without language barriers, and stimulating economic growth to build a better world. However, speaking fewer languages would not lead us to a better future, as it would cause a loss of cultural identity and a reduction in the productive labor force. Considering these concerns, it is evident that speaking fewer languages would not lead to a brighter future. Moreover, speaking fewer languages would only enhance local communication instead of global communication, as we would lack motivation to communicate with other language groups. Every language represents its own culture and demonstrates the creativity and uniqueness of its culture. Therefore, preserving all cultures by speaking more languages helps maintain our connection with our ancestors and the uniqueness of our culture.

References

Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Freedman, M. (2007). Bilingualism as a protection against the onset of symptoms of dementia. Neuropsychologia, 45(2), 459-464.

European Commission. (2012). Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf