2011

SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE

Focus on Fisk Final
Paper for Final Evaluation of English Course Advised by Leticia de Aquino

Edmilson Cruz Silva

Saturday, August 27, 2011

I NTRODUCTION
Imagine an ordinary morning in the life of a citizen. He wakes up and has breakfast: an orange juice glass, a cup of coffee. Oranges are from Florida, coffee is from Brazil. He watches the morning news broadcasted by BBC of London in his Japanese TV while he is having his breakfast. His clothes are made of cotton from Georgia and his car is made of parts produced in different countries. In this scene, we can notice that nowadays the world became a global village. Nations make business all the time. Organizations are created with a view to bring about economic integration like European Community. Therefore, it s necessary a universal language so that people can communicate. Nevertheless, each country has its own language, its own culture, and its religions. There are several peoples, tribes and ethnic groups in the world. The diversity is huge. People think differently from each other. So, is it possible for us to speak the same language?



W HAT IS LANGUAGE?
According to the Macmillan Dictionary, we have multiple meanings for language. Here are some: the method of human communication using spoken or written words

the particular form of words and speech that is used by the people of a country, area or social group

signs, symbols, sounds and other methods of communicating information, feelings or ideas

L u is defi ed i sever w s depending on how experts of language or linguisti s view a language. One of the definitions is proposed by ardhaugh (1977), who says that language is a system of arbit rary vocal symbols used for human communication. Language allows people to say things to each other and express their communicative needs. It is also the cement of society, allowing people to live, wor , and play together, to tell the truth but also to tell a lie or lies.



T HE ORI

OF L

The origins of human language will perhaps remain forever obscure. By contrast the origin of individual languages has been the subject of very precise study over the past two centuries.

There are about 5000 languages spoken in the world today (a third of them in Africa), but scholars group them together into relatively few families - probably less than twenty. Languages are linked to each other by shared words or sounds or grammatical constructions. The theory is that the members of each linguistic group have descended from one language, a common ancestor. In many cases that original language is judged by the experts to have been spoken in surprisingly recent times - as little as a few thousand years ago. One of the stories known by people is the biblical narrative about The Tower of Babel. According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, were they decided to build a city with a tower whose top may reach unto heaven lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the Earth . hether there was any or bad intention in this building or not has been subject of many discussions which will not be mentioned in this paper. The builders intended the tower to reach heaven; their presumption however angered God, who interrupted the construction by causing among them a previously unknown confusion of languages. He then scattered these people, speaking different languages, over the face of the Earth. The origin of language, however, concerns the onset in prehistory of human language whether gestural or spoken. There are numerous hypotheses about how, why, when and where it happened, but all of them are speculative because the relevant developments occurred so early in human prehistory andneither have left direct historical traces, nor are comparable processes observable today.



IS THERE A UNI

ERSAL LANGUAGE?

Universal language may refer to a hypothetical or historical language spoken and understood by all or most of the world s population. In some circles, it is a language said to be understood by all living things, beings, and objects alike. It may be the ideal of an international auxiliary language for communication between groups speaking different primary language.

Lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues. Lingua franca is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic history or structure of the language. Whereas a vernacular language is used as a native language in a single speaker community, a lingua franca goes beyond the boundaries of its original community, and is used as a second language for communication between communities. For example, English is a vernacular in the United Kingdom, but is used as a vehicular language (that is, a lingua franca) in the Philippines. Examples of lingua franca are numerous, and exist in every continent. The most obvious example today is English, which is the current lingua franca of international business, science, technology, and aviation. There are many other linguas francas centralized in particular regions, such as the Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish ones. The popularity of languages changes over time, and there are many linguas francas that are of historical importance. For example, French was the language of European diplomacy from the 17th century until the mid-20th century. A universal language would make international travel easier, but it s unlikely there will ever be one.



WE CAN SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE (CONCLUSION)

We can conclude that is very important to learn a universal language as English and, who can learn it, do it. On the other hand, it is impossible all inhabitants of the world speak just one single language. Despite some groups have advocated that a universal language should be adopted, it would be difficult to find any group willing to give up their own language because both culture and history becomes embedded within it over time. Furthermore, the plurality of languages and dialects makes the world so exciting and wonderful. However, speaking the same language also means to have similar ideas, thoughts and tastes. In the meaning, we can speak the same language: to speak the love language, respect and tolerance. We all should aim to have a world where everyone is treated with respect and dignity, and where there are equal opportunities for all, a world that respects and values the diversity of people. Valuing diversity means that we recognize that we all have complex identities made up of many strands. These can include, but are not limited to,

ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical and mental aptitudes, nationality, socioeconomic status, and religious, political or other beliefs. It is necessary that the world people look at each other knowing that the cultures are different and that no one is less or greater for having been born with a different skin color, or even for being of a different ethnic background or even of any religion. This commitment consists of education, communication, appreciation of culture, to spread the idea that the difference between human beings is the world's wealth and not its ruin. For this reason it should not be the cause for conflict between people. How about speaking and teaching this language?

 

REFERENCES
1. http://liek59.com/language/definition-of-language, Language Knowledge. 2. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab13, History of Language. 3. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/babel.htm, Tower of Babel. 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca, Lingua Franca. 5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language, Language.