Language diversity

There are nearly 7000 languages believed to be spoken all around the world, and one
might think that this is something that will eventually divide us even more, but, from
my point of view, this variety of languages should not only be encouraged, but also seen
as something beneficial. This is what I will be talking about in this presentation, I will
explain how did we end up with this many languages and why is this relevant in our
modern world.

I am sure all of you know that the thousands of languages existing today
can be traced back to a much smaller number: for example, English,
German or Dutch are classified as Germanic languages, because they all
have the same roots and, because of that, share similarities. Just like
Portuguese, Spanish or Italian are considered Romance languages because
they all derive from Latin. (Does anyone know another language that
derives from Latin?)
But how did this happen? How does one language turn into so many
others? Well, the main reason has to do with distance and time. You see,
people are always on the move, emigrating and seeking new opportunities,
and this causes languages to change over time. For example, if two
individuals who speak the same language get divided by distance,
eventually their dialects will evolve in different directions and, after
enough time passes, they will end up speaking two separate, but related
languages, like Portuguese and Spanish. This will also lead to a certain type
of diversity within one single language, like the Englishes that we’ve
talked about during our classes, such as Australian, Irish or Indian English.
Furthermore, I believe that by supporting language diversity we are also
strengthening people’s cultural heritage and, therefore, their identity.
Language is not just a way of communicating, it is also a representation of
culture, and eliminating or suppressing certain languages can result in
people losing their identity. Besides, diversity in itself is a form of beauty
and it’s what makes the world exciting. So, that being said, I think we
should be encouraging people to speak the more languages they can in
order to promote different cultures. Maybe this way we will avoid living in
a boring world where everyone speaks the same language. (What about
you? What language would you like to learn besides English?)
In conclusion, languages have come a long way and have originated what
we call today – language diversity. We must recognise the importance of
this so that, sometime in the future, we live in a diverse and multicultural
world, rather than a monotonous and colourless world.