Should there just be one language in the world?

[Monoriu]

The lack of an alphabet would seem to make it somewhat inflexible.  Harder to add new words into the language.

Harder?  It is almost impossible   Especially in the age of computers.  You can invent a new word.  Good luck to get the PRC computer system to accept it.  Because of the one child policy, a lot of parents are themselves single children, and both the father and the mother want to preserve their family name.  So they invent a new word as the surname for their child by combining their own respective family names.  Only to find that it is impossible to register the new word/name at government offices.  In the age of handwriting, the sympathetic officials can accept it.  But the local officials can't change the central computer database.

Why don't you guys just develop a phonetic writing system?  Wouldn't that be easier?

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity. 

[Zoupa]

The lack of an alphabet would seem to make it somewhat inflexible.  Harder to add new words into the language.

Harder?  It is almost impossible   Especially in the age of computers.  You can invent a new word.  Good luck to get the PRC computer system to accept it.  Because of the one child policy, a lot of parents are themselves single children, and both the father and the mother want to preserve their family name.  So they invent a new word as the surname for their child by combining their own respective family names.  Only to find that it is impossible to register the new word/name at government offices.  In the age of handwriting, the sympathetic officials can accept it.  But the local officials can't change the central computer database.

Why don't you guys just develop a phonetic writing system?  Wouldn't that be easier?

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity.

There might be hundreds of dialects, but the main language just sounds terrible  We're getting way more northerner immigrants than in the past. Plus they're taller and uglier. 

I want my cantonese chinamen back plz. Mono do something.

[Ideologue]

The lack of an alphabet would seem to make it somewhat inflexible.  Harder to add new words into the language.

Harder?  It is almost impossible   Especially in the age of computers.  You can invent a new word.  Good luck to get the PRC computer system to accept it.  Because of the one child policy, a lot of parents are themselves single children, and both the father and the mother want to preserve their family name.  So they invent a new word as the surname for their child by combining their own respective family names.  Only to find that it is impossible to register the new word/name at government offices.  In the age of handwriting, the sympathetic officials can accept it.  But the local officials can't change the central computer database.

Why don't you guys just develop a phonetic writing system?  Wouldn't that be easier?

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity.

Centralization +1
Innovative -2.

[Monoriu]

There might be hundreds of dialects, but the main language just sounds terrible  We're getting way more northerner immigrants than in the past. Plus they're taller and uglier. 

I want my cantonese chinamen back plz. Mono do something.

*You* do something.  People will go to where the jobs are

[Razgovory]

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity.

It's this sort of inflexibility that makes me think that Chinese will not become a lingua Franca even if China becomes a Superpower.  English, for all it's faults is very flexible.  New words can be added in very easily.  Nouns generally don't need genders and foreign words don't need to be modified much to be put into an English sentence.  English also lacks a great many grammatical elements found in other languages, such as admirative sentences or clusivity.  Which probably makes it easier to learn, but I suppose conveys less information.

[Monoriu]

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity.

It's this sort of inflexibility that makes me think that Chinese will not become a lingua Franca even if China becomes a Superpower.  English, for all it's faults is very flexible.  New words can be added in very easily.  Nouns generally don't need genders and foreign words don't need to be modified much to be put into an English sentence.  English also lacks a great many grammatical elements found in other languages, such as admirative sentences or clusivity.  Which probably makes it easier to learn, but I suppose conveys less information.

The Chinese are very eager to learn English.  "He doesn't even know the 26 alphabets" is a popular insult.  Most Chinese do not believe that their language will become a lingua Franca, and they do not think it should be a goal.  I always laugh when I see foreigners learning Mandarin, thinking this will become trendy in the future.  Chinese have a responsibility to learn English.  Others do not have a responsibility to learn Chinese.   

[jimmy olsen]

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity.

It's this sort of inflexibility that makes me think that Chinese will not become a lingua Franca even if China becomes a Superpower.  English, for all it's faults is very flexible.  New words can be added in very easily.  Nouns generally don't need genders and foreign words don't need to be modified much to be put into an English sentence.  English also lacks a great many grammatical elements found in other languages, such as admirative sentences or clusivity.  Which probably makes it easier to learn, but I suppose conveys less information.

The Chinese are very eager to learn English.  "He doesn't even know the 26 alphabets" is a popular insult.  Most Chinese do not believe that their language will become a lingua Franca, and they do not think it should be a goal.  I always laugh when I see foreigners learning Mandarin, thinking this will become trendy in the future.  Chinese have a responsibility to learn English.  Others do not have a responsibility to learn Chinese.

I'd be surprised if even the best linguist at the State Department knows 26 alphabets.

Trendy? Given the dearth of Chinese speakers in the west I'm sure you can get yourself a great job that you're otherwise only marginally qualified for if you're fluent in it.

[Monoriu]

I'd be surprised if even the best linguist at the State Department knows 26 alphabets.

Trendy? Given the dearth of Chinese speakers in the west I'm sure you can get yourself a great job that you're otherwise only marginally qualified for if you're fluent in it.

If you count waiting tables as great jobs, yeah, sure.  I know plenty of Chinese friends who waited tables in Vancouver 

[Neil]

It's important to learn Chinese so that we can crack your diplomatic code and then imprison every single one of you bastards that sets foot on the soil of a civilized nation.

[Ideologue]

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity.

It's this sort of inflexibility that makes me think that Chinese will not become a lingua Franca even if China becomes a Superpower.  English, for all it's faults is very flexible.  New words can be added in very easily.  Nouns generally don't need genders and foreign words don't need to be modified much to be put into an English sentence.  English also lacks a great many grammatical elements found in other languages, such as admirative sentences or clusivity.  Which probably makes it easier to learn, but I suppose conveys less information.

The Chinese are very eager to learn English.  "He doesn't even know the 26 alphabets" is a popular insult.  Most Chinese do not believe that their language will become a lingua Franca, and they do not think it should be a goal.  I always laugh when I see foreigners learning Mandarin, thinking this will become trendy in the future.  Chinese have a responsibility to learn English.  Others do not have a responsibility to learn Chinese.

Well, at least you're realistic about it.  It's refreshing to see that sort of attitude.  So unlike the Quebecois.

[Habsburg]

Chinese have a responsibility to learn English.  Others do not have a responsibility to learn Chinese.

And we have a WINNER!

[Josquius]

Hell no.
And I wish the world language wasn`t English, it`s damaging for us (culturally and educationally, not economically of course)

[Razgovory]

It has been developed.  It is called pinyin.  Nobody really uses it, except in teaching foreigners on pronounciation. 

The beauty of the Chinese system is that it is nigh on impossible to change the characters.  There are hundreds of dialects in China, but everybody uses the same writing system.  Great for maintaining language/national unity.

It's this sort of inflexibility that makes me think that Chinese will not become a lingua Franca even if China becomes a Superpower.  English, for all it's faults is very flexible.  New words can be added in very easily.  Nouns generally don't need genders and foreign words don't need to be modified much to be put into an English sentence.  English also lacks a great many grammatical elements found in other languages, such as admirative sentences or clusivity.  Which probably makes it easier to learn, but I suppose conveys less information.

The Chinese are very eager to learn English.  "He doesn't even know the 26 alphabets" is a popular insult.  Most Chinese do not believe that their language will become a lingua Franca, and they do not think it should be a goal.  I always laugh when I see foreigners learning Mandarin, thinking this will become trendy in the future.  Chinese have a responsibility to learn English.  Others do not have a responsibility to learn Chinese.

Interesting, I had been wondering about that.  I've had some friends who tried to learn it.  They told me that it is very difficult since so many words sound the same.  Presumably they were talking about the intonations.  I have only one who really stuck with it, but since his wife is Chinese he feels obligated to do so.

[jimmy olsen]

I'd be surprised if even the best linguist at the State Department knows 26 alphabets.

Trendy? Given the dearth of Chinese speakers in the west I'm sure you can get yourself a great job that you're otherwise only marginally qualified for if you're fluent in it.

If you count waiting tables as great jobs, yeah, sure.  I know plenty of Chinese friends who waited tables in Vancouver 

I'm talking about American born citizens. Just look at HVC, he's got a great opportunity with a company simply because he speaks Portuguese and the company has business in Brazil. The same applies even moreso to people who speak Chinese, because so much more business is done in China.

[jimmy olsen]

Hell no.
And I wish the world language wasn`t English, it`s damaging for us (culturally and educationally, not economically of course)

How?