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We can't even get the US to adopt the metric system.
We can't decide which side of the road to drive on.
We can't even agree to meet once every 4 years for sports without some argument erupting...
As long as we have egos, false pride, jealousy, hate, envy... it won't be happening. If the end of the world were happening and it was the only option to save us.. I suspect someone would still object.
Wait:
Metric System:
We don't want it.
Side of Road:
We ALL agree. Drive on the other side from on-coming traffic.
4 Years for Sports:
Why would we want to stop the debates/agruements? That's one of the things sports is all about anyway.
Egos, ...jealousy etc:
These are just part of being human. They are merely the "other side of the coin" of those things we find endearing: Accomplishments, Love, Fear, desire for improvement etc.
Unfortunately, English pronunciation is not uniform and a strictly phonetic alphabet may require compromise between speakers of various dialects to standardize spelling with sounds.
Language experts also note that some accents add and drop sounds that are not part of the accepted pronunciation / spelling. New England often drops ending "r" on many words and syllables.
Ex:
kah (car)
bah (bar)
Haw vadd (Harvard)
bahk (bark)
New Joyzee (New Jersey)
In my view, the English language is like an old 1968 Corvette Stingray that has never had any maintenance. It needs a paint job, new tires, a tune up (or overhaul), or at least an oil change! Yet, here we go sputtering and coughing down the highway. With a bit of attention, the car could be a real hot rod. But, nobody takes an interest in it. That's English. It gets us down the road, but it could be a real gem if we would just give it the badly needed attention it deserves. Previous generations have made an attempt to do so, why can't we? If you look at correspondence written by common folk from two centuries ago, you will see what I mean.
Other languages have 'academies' that set guidelines and goals to keep the language as logical and streamlined as possible: Spanish, German, etc. And if you look at the state of their languages, they are not perfect, but at least there is an attempt to make it easy on people and logical. Not in English.
If language is about communication, it's sad and counterproductive that there is no real guideline for English. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of English being a global language? Everybody just ‘doing their own thing’? English could make a good global language, but it never really will if there are no guidelines and nobody knows those few guidelines that do exist. A foreigner who learns English typically knows more about it than we native speakers do. What does that say about us and our ability to host a global language? Can we carry the torch or should we pass it to someone who can?
After you dig into the existing research, you might realize that there is no simple nor elegant solution.
But it's fun to stretch one's mind - - -
Location: planet octupulous is nearing earths atmosphere
13,621 posts, read 12,726,125 times
Reputation: 20050
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetgraphics
There's one more glitch with Inglitch -
Say this out loud:
Ladle Wet Rotten Oot.
Z? Inglitch conn bee vary heart two fallow.
kann u reed thhis iff u cann u mite bee a genous... buut mayybee yourr nott. soo itt go'ss tooo sho u spellllin reely dosintt maeter thaate muuch itts alll abbouut unndder sttanndding.. simmplle ass thaatt.. aa woorld laguuaage woold beee aa gooodd thinnng forr alll thee coontryys oof theee woorrld... ittts aa whin whin foor thee woorld
Wait:
Metric System:
We don't want it.
Side of Road:
We ALL agree. Drive on the other side from on-coming traffic.
4 Years for Sports:
Why would we want to stop the debates/agruements? That's one of the things sports is all about anyway.
Egos, ...jealousy etc:
These are just part of being human. They are merely the "other side of the coin" of those things we find endearing: Accomplishments, Love, Fear, desire for improvement etc.
The mention of the metric system brings up another thought and perhaps a glimmer of hope for English in the future (as a global language):
It sometimes takes an ‘outside’ perspective to progress or streamline a traditional system. For example, somewhere along the line someone realized how illogical, inefficient, and time wasting the existing measurement systems were. The metric system was born, based on our number system—much more efficient and a breeze to work with. An outside perspective from an individual or individuals who used the prior systems regularly saw a need and filled it with a more efficient alternative.
A similar thing could happen with the English language. More and more of the world is learning English. One day, perhaps these learners of such an inefficient and illogical system will see the need to change it to a degree that it saves time, money, and effort. That’s not very likely to happen if left to native speakers who can’t really understand the problem in the first place. They’re used to it and satisfied with the status quo. But for someone from ‘outside’ the language, the problem is evident. Perhaps change will come from ‘outside’ the English language, as it becomes more of a world language. Perhaps the world will at one point refuse to accept the buffoonery native speakers accept by default.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcashley
Egos, ...jealousy etc:
These are just part of being human.
That's what we are taught in our society, but I do not believe it. I don't believe it's ingrained in our genetic code. I feel if a person really wishes to rise above such things, it's possible.
do you think it's possible to create a new global unbias language
Trying to figure out why would we WANT to?
Language is a cultural difference that is wonderful and unique. If it were all blended together.....the soup would lose it's individual flavor.
The intent of a global language is not to replace existing languages, but to provide a secondary language common to everyone, allowing worldwide communication.
Location: planet octupulous is nearing earths atmosphere
13,621 posts, read 12,726,125 times
Reputation: 20050
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
The intent of a global language is not to replace existing languages, but to provide a secondary language common to everyone, allowing worldwide communication.
kann u reed thhis iff u cann u mite bee a genous... buut mayybee yourr nott. soo itt go'ss tooo sho u spellllin reely dosintt maeter thaate muuch itts alll abbouut unndder sttanndding.. simmplle ass thaatt.. aa woorld laguuaage woold beee aa gooodd thinnng forr alll thee coontryys oof theee woorrld... ittts aa whin whin foor thee woorld
Ah, a different dialect.
The "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut" example was to show that one could use real words, that a spell checker would not catch, yet when spoken aloud, would mean something totally different.
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