Example research essay topic: Family And Friends Universal Language - 968 words

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There are roughly 5, 000 or so languages in use in the world today. There have been grandiose plans by people in the past to create a universal language for the world. One example is a language published by Dr. L. L. Zamenhof over 100 years ago called Esperanto, meaning One who hopes.

This language has no culture attached to it; it was created for the sole purpose of world communication. Not many people have even heard of this language, let alone use the language at all. It sounded great to Dr. Zamenhof to create this language, Im sure, but lets look at how realistic it is. Could this world one day have a functioning universal language? Lets for a moment set aside the fact that there are thousands of languages spoken all over the world.

Could it be feasible to get everyone on the same sheet of music per se? Maybe we could use a smaller scale. Let us use the United States for example. Better yet, Old Dominion University.

We have many factors that need to be taken into account. The three most prominent could be age groups, ethnicity, family and friends. I think everyone has heard the saying that you cant teach an old dog new tricks. In this case the dog would be humans. It may not be that you cant teach them, but maybe they just dont want to learn. If someone has been speaking a certain language, or even in a certain way his or her entire life, who are we to ask them to change?

Maybe a certain way of speaking or language is a persons heritage. Who are we to ask them to forget it? We all have certain words and phrases that we use amongst our family and friends. Could someone ever stop that from happening? Language is something that cannot feasibly be regulated. Id have to say that yes, a universal language could have its conveniences.

One would be able to travel all around the world and always know what was being said. If you ran into trouble, you know that whomever would be able to understand you if you asked for help. But could a universal language be exactly the same everywhere? Just within the United States there are so many variances in slang and dialect that if a person from California were to travel to Boston, he might not understand something said in a conversation. For example, I have a friend from Indiana that I served with in the military. We were on our way out to dinner one night, and he mentioned that he needed to stop by the money-mover.

Money- mover? What the heck was that? Were we speaking the same language? I then realized he must have been talking about an ATM machine.

He explained that it must have been an Indiana thing. To him, it was a machine that moved money from place to place; therefore, it was a money-mover. He thought it was strange that I called it am ATM. But to me, it was an Automated Teller Machine, thus the acronym ATM. It seemed obvious where ATM came from, since most ATMs at least have the words automated teller printed right on the machine. So you see, something as simple as getting cash before going out to eat was a problem.

We both spoke the same language; we were from the same country, yet we still have out differences. Lets not forget about different generations in the United States and their terminology. The younger generations are continuously creating and re-creating words and lingo to match their own personality and ever-changing culture. Im sure that if an elderly person were to listen to a random conversation between students on campus, there would be at least a few words that were misunderstood, even in the most conservative of conversations. I consider myself to be very conservative and Id like to think that I have a decent grasp on the English language. However, Ive still had to explain a phrase or two in my day to family members who didnt understand.

My grandfather would often use a phrase to describe someone whom he found humorous. Youre such a card! he would say. A card? ? ?

I had to ask what that meant the first time he said it in front of me. Then theres my parents generation. Things were very groovy back then. Oh really?

Well nowadays, theyre off the hook. Bottom line is that it would be very hard to enforce a universal language, or even get everyone on earth to learn it. Ideally, youd have to wait for all the old-timers to die off, since they wouldnt want to change, force everyone to forget about their heritage, and have everyone, no matter his age group or location, use the same terminology. But once the older generations start to die, then the middle-aged folks take their place. So you see, it really would have to be forced onto everyone, including those set in their ways. Next thing you know, my mom would be calling me from California saying that she went to the money-mover last night so she could go to the new mall with her amigos today because it was off the hook.

Id think she had gone mad! Could our world have a universal language? Even if we had a universal language, there would be different dialects no matter where we went. People would still use code words within their circles, whether it is a community circle, family circle, or circle of friends. Language is part of what makes us unique individuals. If we take that away or try to make us all the same, what would be interesting anymore?

Bibliography: 22 years old freshman at Old Dominion University

Research essay sample on Family And Friends Universal Language