Do you know a Universal Language?

After reading "Do you know a Universal language?" on Wonderopolis the Justice League used a SOLO hot map to evaluate the claim "The world would be a better place if a single language was spoken by everyone on Earth"

Some legends hold that, thousands of years ago, there was a single language spoken by everyone on Earth. However would the world would be a better place if a single language was spoken by everyone on Earth?

One benefit of everyone speaking a single language is that you could understand everyone easily without needing translation. There wouldn’t be miscommunication through translation such as what happened during the translation of the Treaty of Waitangi. Some people argue that during the treaty translation there was language that conveyed a particular meaning in Māori that had a different meaning in English.

However speaking a single language would mean people would lose a connection with their culture. Culture and language are entwined with each other. Losing your language would mean a loss of identity.

Another benefit of a single global language would be new migrants would find it easier to find employment. Many refugees/migrants struggle to find work due to language barriers however this barrier could be removed if we all spoke the same language.

If Earth chose to have a single universal language it would be boring. A great part of travelling is experiencing different languages. Having many different languages also provides us the opportunity to learn.     

While there may be advantages for speaking a universal language such as English because there would be less miscommunication and migrants would have better opportunities the loss of people’s own language would have a greater impact. Having your own unique language means you have a way of connecting with people of their own culture.

Overall we believe the world is a better place because of the diverse number of languages spoken. With new technologies it is easier than ever for us to connect and communicate with people all over the world, even without speaking the same language.