THE day is not far off when we will all wear micro earpieces the size of a small hearing aid, to translate several languages of our choosing into the language in which we prefer to work.
This will obviate the need to master several languages and eliminate the advantage or necessity to be fluent in several languages. In any case, the average human being can operate in a few languages. But until that happy day when the technology is available and affordable we will find it useful to speak more than one language.
We start from the premise that in a world undergoing rapid and profound globalisation, and given the importance and diversification of the tourism industry, it is advantageous for all Jamaicans to speak more than one international language.
Since Jamaicans, like the rest of humanity, will find it advantageous to speak and understand two or three languages, the question is then, which languages should Jamaicans speak? To make this decision we must start from what languages are available, what languages we now speak and which two or three languages are most advantageous for us to speak, write and understand.
There are approximately 7,000 languages to choose from at this time. Over 500 languages are in India and Nigeria and 830 in Papua New Guinea. The multiplicity of languages is declining as the more obscure are disappearing rapidly because of tribal groups being absorbed into modernity, the concentration of international media in a few languages and the dominance of English in commerce and science.
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www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/What-o...speak-#ixzz1xLaUnIti
