Language

The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world will have adopted one universal language and one common script. When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were entering his own home. These things are obligatory and absolutely essential. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, 249-50)

Language, technology, and culture are inseparably interwoven. The people of the world are evolving a global culture and will, over time, create or designate an official world language. The practical necessity of doing business, the need for ongoing communication required for political cooperation, the ever-increasing number of people crossing borders on a temporary or permanent basis, the shared technological advancements, and the rapidly evolving communication technologies that are increasing the rate of personal daily interaction for the people around the world are forces already at work in the creation of a global culture. The geographic boundaries that necessitated the development of separate languages and cultural groups are completely overwhelmed by today's political, economic, and technical changes. Isolation is no longer a practical option for any group of people. The twentieth century marks the full-scale reversal of the dispersion and cultural differentiation of humankind that has been proceeding for thousands of years as cultures evolved in geographic remoteness. The globe has been encompassed. The world's populations are now integrating at an ever-increasing rate.

The technological developments over the past 150 years have already created a shared global culture that is more significant than all the differences reflected in the myriad of cultures that developed over the previous 10,000 years. The differences between us attributable to cultural-historical origins are magnified by language differences, which, it could be argued, are the most significant differences among the peoples of the world in terms of erecting barriers. Religion, skin color, politics, and economics produce barriers as formidable as mountains for separating people. The ability to communicate provided by a common language is the primary material out of which roads over the mountains of our differences can be constructed.

In a broader context, our looks and language are a small, almost infinitesimal, fraction of characteristics compared with the overwhelming area of juncture we share as human beings. These differences, however, dominate the interactions of people crossing cultural borders. Human beings share millions or billions of years of common evolution depending on the starting point (i.e. some would start with the earliest primitive life forms). The visible differences - like hair and eye color - are a veneer. They are superficial but very noticeable and susceptible to overvaluation. Language barriers further exacerbate the difficulties they present.

Global human cultures afford differences in food, dress, aesthetics, body language, art, and literature - a myriad of subtle and not so subtle differences. The diversity potentially provides enjoyable accents to our shared humanity when we can communicate. The differences easily become the basis of fear and suspicion when we cannot. One of the most practical things the world community can do to promote its peace and prosperity is to teach a world language to all the inhabitants of the globe.

Travel to unfamiliar cultures feels significantly more comfortable with the ability to communicate. The psychological and social comfort of the traveler will not likely afford a strong enough motive for implementing a world language. However, survival in a nuclear age, profit from trade, global communication and entertainment systems, increased travel, scientific and educational cooperation, ever-increasing population migrations, along with increases in cultural and racial intermarriage rates may provide more persistent inducements.

Arguments can be forwarded for the desirability of creating a world language rather than selecting an existing one. Some of the advantages are easily apparent. A language devised by linguists can be made to adhere to the dictates of reason instead of the rather subjective trends of cultural evolution. The learning of language can be considerably easier if its rules are logical and consistent. Vocabulary can initially be drawn from cognates of the world's existing language groups. Everyone will already know a percentage of the words. A created language will be closer to cultural and national neutrality.

Regardless of its practical benefits, efforts thus far to initiate the construction and acceptance of a secondary global language have failed. Esperanto enjoyed a modicum of support for a period of time but has been completely overshadowed by the prospect of English becoming a global language. Esperanto, though it had the above mentioned benefits of a constructed language, had an Indo-European bias. Constructing an unbiased, reasonably culturally neutral language would be a monumental undertaking. It would, however, contribute beyond a selected language to cooperative processes essential to global community. The act of its creation would be a notable, proactive effort affirming the importance of global cooperation. Once created it would have staying power. A language that becomes dominant because of the dominance of a particular culture is subject to change as another culture becomes dominant. Whether a language is constructed or chosen, having a secondary language taught to all of the world's population is essential for harmonious global community.