The Positive Opinion of Losing Old Languages

King of the Hill. Survival of the fittest. Micro-Evolution. All three of these are based on one major category; those who strongest will outlast the others. Currently the King of the Languages is English. Around the world more and more people are learning English as their first language. Even in places where it is not the number one language it is still taught at the same time the other languages are.

Rob Burton, my Multicultural English professor, proposes a very interesting situation about the languages of the world. Currently at the rate of extinction, one language is lost every two weeks. At that rate over 2,500 languages will be lost over the next 100 years. According to Burton, that is over a quarter of the existing languages in the world today.

The question then that you must ask is this a good or a bad thing? I believe this a good thing. Looking at it from an evolutionary standpoint, we as a human race are moving forward. I have a religious background but still believe in micro-evolution. Examples like the language extinction are why I believe in micro-evolution. I do believe it is a good thing. It means that we are developing a language for Earth. Business, friendships, and anything else runs smoother when everyone understands what you are saying. By having one language, the human race can advance at a faster rate. After all, aren’t we all here to help better the lives of those after us?

You might want to ask me if I would feel the same if the world language was not my native tongue. I would respond the same for one reason. As a human, I am an irrational being. I make decisions based outside of what might actually be right in the long run. I do not follow rules all the time because I have my own ideas which may be different from the opinion of everyone else. I however, try to make decisions like this based on a rational point of view. Rationally, this is exactly as we should be working. Rationally, decisions would be made that would lead to the better of us all. Being rational means you don’t worry about those being left behind, they are the weak links and are just holding us back. If the language of the world was an African language, then so be it. However I do not find it a coincidence that the language of the world is turning into English. The more powerful a language, the more adaptive, and the more prevalent amongst humans, should indicate that it is a ‘better’ universal language if you will.