Poll: Language

[Merkavar]

which do you think should be the international language or the language for our interstellar empire (for the sci fi fans) and why? by this i mean other languages need to stop being taught as a countries primary language.

I dont know much about other languages. where i live all i hear is english or drunk talk from the local alcos. so im going to have to suggest english because it seems to be both simple and complex at the same time. like there are dozens of crazy rules but if you dont follow them the message doesnt seem to get lost as much.

maybe mandrin cause like 1/7 or 1/8 of the world speak it so majority rules and all that. but i also heard that english is even more popular if you take into account 2nd and 3rd language spoken by people.so maybe ill stick with english.

 

[SenorNemo]

English is probably the most likely, spoken alongside Mandarin and Spanish, (and possibly Hindi, Portuguese, Turkish, and Russian). English is hard to master, even if you speak a Germanic or Romance language already, but the people that know enough to get by is rather large, especially in the countries with enough economic and technological clout to spearhead the expansion into space. Mandarin will doubtless be popular, but Mandarin is, for one, not the only Chinese language, and only spoken en masse in China. Spanish, on the other hand, is spoken as a first and second language through out a surprisingly large percentage of the world, though the number of these nations that'll be on the forefront of the interstellar expansion is questionable.

As for constructed languages (ie Esperanto, Klingon, and any number of other international languages), most people aren't going to learn a new language if they don't have to, and nobody is going to learn it well if there aren't any already existing websites, tv shows, and books in the language.

 

[Kryzantine]

I voted Russian, because if you're going to be establishing an intergalactic empire... well, it'll suck to be outside, and Russian has the best pessimism ever. Also, something about 1/4 of all research papers being written in Russian, how popular it is in some cultures and how effective it is as a form of communication.

Though seriously, we'd probably keep our languages separate.

 

[Valagetti]

PPPPPFFFFTTTT, Latin of course! Could not be more obvious... I wonder how the accent would turn out...

 

[redisforever]

Russian. I speak it. And I need to talk to others.

 

[trooper6]

which do you think should be the international language or the language for our interstellar empire (for the sci fi fans) and why? by this i mean other languages need to stop being taught as a countries primary language.

I don't think countries should be forbidden from teaching their own languages in their schools as their primary language if that is what they want.

I don't like the idea of an artificial fiat of what is a malleable and fluid situation.

 

[Mr Thin]

I voted English purely because I speak it.

But an intergalactic empire where everyone spoke Russian would be pretty damn cool.

 

[Grell Sutcliff]

busterkeatonrules told me about esperanto which is said to be very easy to teach people of different cultures
I voted japanese though because it sounds awesome

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

English.

It's already the official language of international business and the internet, and being taught in schools in China, Japan, and India. The rest of the world might as well get on the bandwagon.

 

[Toriver]

English is already the lingua franca of much of the international business and political world. It is also likely the language that has incorporated the most influence from outside its original vocabulary, and if I recall, sports the largest vocabulary of any world language. It also has a very flexible grammar, making communication in English relatively easy to understand even when mistakes are made. I think that although the most people in the world speak it, Chinese is hampered by a difficult pronunciation and writing system, its relatively low number of second-language speakers, and the sheer fact that 90+ percent of native Chinese speakers live only in China. China may be a rising economic power, but I don't really see demand for Chinese as a business language cutting into demand for English.

 

[The Heik]

which do you think should be the international language or the language for our interstellar empire (for the sci fi fans) and why? by this i mean other languages need to stop being taught as a countries primary language.

I dont know much about other languages. where i live all i hear is english or drunk talk from the local alcos. so im going to have to suggest english because it seems to be both simple and complex at the same time. like there are dozens of crazy rules but if you dont follow them the message doesnt seem to get lost as much.

maybe mandrin cause like 1/7 or 1/8 of the world speak it so majority rules and all that. but i also heard that english is even more popular if you take into account 2nd and 3rd language spoken by people.so maybe ill stick with english.

What, no Italian? It's a beautiful and efficient language, honed by 2000+ years of linguistic evolution by one of the most active societies on planet Earth, and yet you didn't put it up?

Son I is disappoint.

Honestly though, I'd say English, mostly because its freaking everywhere, and it's the dominant language in economic matters, which is the main reason why we would go out into space (Well that and overpopulation. Seriously, why does humanity need to be so horny?)

 

[Dragonheart57]

I think it would have to be some mixture of the languages of everyone in space, because humans suck at agreements. Also, English is a crappy language, and I would rather the main language be something without so many stupid rules and exceptions. BTW, English is the only language I speak as of now.

 

[octafish]

English is already the lingua franca of much of the international business and political world. It is also likely the language that has incorporated the most influence from outside its original vocabulary, and if I recall, sports the largest vocabulary of any world language. It also has a very flexible grammar, making communication in English relatively easy to understand even when mistakes are made. I think that although the most people in the world speak it, Chinese is hampered by a difficult pronunciation and writing system, its relatively low number of second-language speakers, and the sheer fact that 90+ percent of native Chinese speakers live only in China. China may be a rising economic power, but I don't really see demand for Chinese as a business language cutting into demand for English.

I find it ever so amusing when English is refered to as the Lingua Franca. I do it too, and it just tickles my funny bone. It isn't as amusing as The Los Angeles Angels, but it is up there.

OT: English, it is already the language of trade.

 

[electronicgoat]

Going to say English, because of how well it works, based on my experience.
Plus, there will be at least 30% more pissing and moaning over grammar correctness.

 

[Merkavar]

What, no Italian? It's a beautiful and efficient language, honed by 2000+ years of linguistic evolution by one of the most active societies on planet Earth, and yet you didn't put it up?

Son I is disappoint.

my list is from wikipedia made from like the top 10 most popular languages. so get more people to speak italian and ill add it to the list.

 

[holy_secret]

Where's the Icelandic option?

 

[The Heik]

What, no Italian? It's a beautiful and efficient language, honed by 2000+ years of linguistic evolution by one of the most active societies on planet Earth, and yet you didn't put it up?

Son I is disappoint.

my list is from wikipedia made from like the top 10 most popular languages. so get more people to speak italian and ill add it to the list.

Edit: waitaminute..... Klingon is one of the top 10 spoken languages?

 

[Tsaba]

Spanish, on the other hand, is spoken as a first and second language through out a surprisingly large percentage of the world, though the number of these nations that'll be on the forefront of the interstellar expansion is questionable.

Let me just say this much about spanish, I just moved away from El Paso, and the people who came over from Juarez, and came to live in the states for a while, couldn't understand the spanish back on the other side of the border because they speak it so fast. Real Spanish might as well be the equal of that blond girl who speaks really really fast and has to use the word "like" every 3 words to meet her quota.

 

[kane.malakos]

If anything, probably Esperanto. It's incredibly easy to learn, and incorporates elements of many other languages.

 

[emeraldrafael]

English is the language of business, and because money makes the world go round, and will undoubtedly rule in space, lets keep it going.