ryan (rmg7) wrote in linguaphiles,
ryan
rmg7
linguaphiles

answer a person's common question

I have had a good amount of people who are not language-savvy, linguistically interested people converse with me before, and ask me this simple question: "Why doesn't/hasn't everyone in the world just speak the same language?"

Now I know there are a multitude of responses I could reply with, but most of the time I'm too caught up with all the possible answers to properly, and concisely answer this question to the point and supply enough of an answer to satisfy the person. Most people who ask it just add to it with "...It would make things so much easier...", "...everyone could communicate easier..."
Me being someone who appreciates language and its diversity wants to convey the linguistic approach to this question and answer it properly...

So I'm asking you, in a linguaphile's mind, what is a concise, but informative way to answer that question to a person unexposed to linguistics or of a substantial language studying background? I'd also like to just hear others sayings on this question.


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  • Anatomy of a "CUNT"

    The word CUNT is not simple, but compound. It consists of two parts. However, first of all, let's get rid of prejudices. The word CUNT is as…

  • a Russian name for the letter Q

    The letter Q looks like the letter O , but with a small tail at the bottom. Could the name of the letter Q relate to this tail? It is…

  • The Touchy Subject

    Apparently, English etymologists are ticklish. That's why they don't want to touch on some sensitive topics. And very important ones. Let's take…