Spoken originality

The origin of human language has remained a puzzle for centuries and although there are numerous theories none have been proven yet.

The latest report by the United Nations however has declared that an estimated half of the world’s 6,700 spoken languages face extinction in the long term.

The bigger news however is that an average of one language disappears every two weeks somewhere in the world.

For those to whom this is a disaster of epic proportions my commiserations.

However, in my opinion, although language is an important part of our identity, culture and nationality, are we not taking our language too far when we try to impose it on those who don’t speak it?

On the other hand, is there not a responsibility to learn a new language when people emigrate to a different country to provide themselves and their families the economic opportunities they are looking for?

Scientists have not yet come to an agreement on when and how language first emerged. Some have estimated the time frame to range from 40,000 years ago during the time of the Cro-Magnon man to about two million years ago during the time of the Homo habilis. (Go to www.creative languages.com for all the origins of language theories.)

And while different nations argue that their brand of communication is superior because their culture and literature was made superior by their language, we should all take a step back and realise that human beings will continue to communicate because it is a spontaneous trait.

We all need language, but which one we actually need ultimately depends on time, place and circumstance and therefore I am not shedding any tears for the languages we have lost because new ones will come along.

Imagine grunting like the Cro-Magnon man or howling like the Homo habilis had their languages not become extinct.

Imagine the whole world speaking Frisian because the language did not absorb Latin, Norwegian, French and other languages to become English.

And what guarantee is there that in another 50 years the denizens of Dubai will not have a new language which includes English, Arabic, Hindi/Urdu, Malayalam and a smattering of others?

Should we call it Dubaialam?

Nirmala Janssen
Editor@alnisrmedia.com

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