"Mom, I am flying to Europe for lunch and will be back in few hours. I am taking my jet by the way." said a 15 year old Murugan living in Tamil Nadu. "Fine honey, be careful. Don't forget to install few languages before going. Europe has several languages and it will help if you want to fly around after lunch", replied his mom. "Sure mom, I already have some and will sure load some more languages too just in case.", said the boy while starting his personal jet from their backyard.
This dialog happens in the year 2500. When they said "load some languages" they did not mean load into their [super] smartphones; they meant "load into the brain.". Sure, this is just an imagination at this time. But, who knows, this could become a reality in the future.
Can it be this easy to acquire a new language? Hope so.
How did we humans get the language while no other species on earth has a language? We do not seem to have a clear answer to this question. But, it is amazing how we humans got language ability when no other species have this. First we did not have language; we communicated using sound and signs. Then, somehow we started communicating using consistent sound patterns that probably evolved into a language later. Then it grew over time of about 50,000+ years into the sophisticated language system we have today.
What will be the future of languages? It is only going to be better for sure and there is no doubt about it. What about the future of language learning?
Today we acquire/learn languages in many ways; we acquire our first language naturally, and additional languages in schools or in a social environment, etc. It takes good amount of time to learn the basic language skill, and a long time to master the language.
Here is an imagination of how people might get acquire languages in the future.
Lets look at the computers. A computer comes with basic hardware and software. We install software to make the computer take different avatar. The basic hardware knows a machine language. Yes, the computers know languages too. Then we make them understand multiple languages like Java, C, C++, C#, and there will be more in the future for sure.
How do we make the computer understand a new language? We just install a language compiler and in minutes, it can read, understand, and do something with it. What! A machine can acquire a language in minutes? Yes, it can.
Won't it be nice if we are able to do the same too? How? We also come to this world with hardware (our body) and software (mind) acquired over time. Won't it be nice if we can also have a way to just install a language software in our brain and in minutes start understanding and speaking a new language?
So, we can purchase few languages, install them as needed, and boom, we are a native in a new country. Won't this be wonderful?
Why not! This could happen one day. We do not have the right technology at this time. But, may be in about 100 to 500 years, this could become a reality!
Thanks
Logu
This dialog happens in the year 2500. When they said "load some languages" they did not mean load into their [super] smartphones; they meant "load into the brain.". Sure, this is just an imagination at this time. But, who knows, this could become a reality in the future.
Can it be this easy to acquire a new language? Hope so.
How did we humans get the language while no other species on earth has a language? We do not seem to have a clear answer to this question. But, it is amazing how we humans got language ability when no other species have this. First we did not have language; we communicated using sound and signs. Then, somehow we started communicating using consistent sound patterns that probably evolved into a language later. Then it grew over time of about 50,000+ years into the sophisticated language system we have today.
What will be the future of languages? It is only going to be better for sure and there is no doubt about it. What about the future of language learning?
Today we acquire/learn languages in many ways; we acquire our first language naturally, and additional languages in schools or in a social environment, etc. It takes good amount of time to learn the basic language skill, and a long time to master the language.
Here is an imagination of how people might get acquire languages in the future.
Lets look at the computers. A computer comes with basic hardware and software. We install software to make the computer take different avatar. The basic hardware knows a machine language. Yes, the computers know languages too. Then we make them understand multiple languages like Java, C, C++, C#, and there will be more in the future for sure.
How do we make the computer understand a new language? We just install a language compiler and in minutes, it can read, understand, and do something with it. What! A machine can acquire a language in minutes? Yes, it can.
Won't it be nice if we are able to do the same too? How? We also come to this world with hardware (our body) and software (mind) acquired over time. Won't it be nice if we can also have a way to just install a language software in our brain and in minutes start understanding and speaking a new language?
So, we can purchase few languages, install them as needed, and boom, we are a native in a new country. Won't this be wonderful?
Why not! This could happen one day. We do not have the right technology at this time. But, may be in about 100 to 500 years, this could become a reality!
Thanks
Logu
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