Universal language and greek

(xposted to Linguiphiles and my personal journal)
So my boyfriend and I are huge Science Fiction dorks and writers. I'm (obviously) a bit of a language nerd.

last night we were discussing the repercussions of the emergence of a "universal" language for Earth.
He argues that the emergence of a universal language would erode native culture and possibly render it obscure. His reasoning is that language is an inherent part of culture and that the appearance of a universal language (especially one derived from a language currently in place) will decrease the need for native language to the point of obscurity.

I argue that there is room for both native and "universal" (weather that ends up being English, or Mandarin or whatever ) culture/ language

thoughts?

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separately, I've been trying to learn enough greek to so that when i go there in a month i'm not lost/ don't look stupid. I was wondering if anyone knew any good radio stations/ tapes/ cds/ websites that could help with pronunciation?
also any tips on learning an entirely new alphabet?


Thanks for your help and thanks for indulging my philosophizing.