Well the function of a language would be to communicate ideas. What's the use of a language that can't communicate ideas, or not finely enough for any use?
Language determines thought space, which is the concepts available for people to consider when they think. Studies have shown that when people say they think in Japanese, or Chinese or English, they really do think differently. Even though the output language may still be the same. Haven't you experienced times when something just comes out in chinese or your mother tongue because english just doesn't seem to have the right word for it?
Shrinking the thought space by reducing the number of words in the language isn't a bad thing if done in moderation. We all know words that have been mutated from their original meaning, and arguments that have failed, because both people don't agree on what they're arguing about, even though they're both using the same word. That's why the first thing to do in a debate is to Define the motion.
I'm thinking of 1984 now, with doublespeak etc. Forced over simplification of language can only lead to people adopting another if they have the chance to, or a natural evolution of that forced language into one that's proper (say english in Singapore's context) and into another more widely used that's improper (say Singlish. Of course, singapore doesn't over simplify language per se. It's just the effect of the English teaching in Singapore, and the dialects spoken in the market and at home.)
Tokipona would be cute for a while... I suppose. Just like we treat all the other minority languages as cute.
posted by Downhere. @ 6:44 am
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