As one of its social principles, the Bahá’í faith teaches that an auxiliary world language should be selected by the representatives of all the world's nations.
“Language follows its own path. It can bridge gulfs of class and geography in
the most remarkable ways.”[1]
Would an auxiliary world language be the solution to many of the afflictions in which lays the society of today?
Could such an instrument enhance and implement the progress that a new civilization would bear once the lack of direct communication and the resulting misunderstanding would be leveled?
The answer to those questions is certainly “Yes!”
How many languages and dialect will be abandoned and die in this process we do not know. It can be argued that selecting an auxiliary world language above the others, could help preserve the traditional languages of each culture and sub-culture, provoking in a short period of time the whole world to shift from a monolingual education into a bilingual; as already prophesized by Graddol, but not yet widely realized.
If this could be prompted in the education system of every nation, in two or three generations we would see the effects. The possible scenario could be that of an environment where the study and use of the English Language, channelled into specific domains of the daily interaction, would run parallel to that of the mother language even to a regional dialect, maybe a city's slang too. The vernacular language of a region or country, the native dialect and the English Language would then coexist everywhere.
That an auxiliary world language should be selected by the representatives of all the world's nations is an undeniable resolution, which the governments have to take for the betterment of the conditions of the present world. English Language has demonstrated to be the auxiliary world language more than just in a mere potentiality. It is already used, though unconsciously by its speakers, in such a way. What will enhance its position and release its powers in the future could only be the possible recognition by a council in majority of governments to adopt it as official instrument to free the world; freeing it from the hindrance that keeps humanity aback from communicate effectively between peoples of different nations. It can be argued that this recognition would lack of impartiality; that choosing English over other system of communication requires defining a standard; that Chinese speakers are still superior in number to English speakers; that the language of the future could be invented today or tomorrow; and many numerous other objections of this kind. If just for one moment we could step out of the confusion and objectively consider that what humanity really need is not a refined perfect system to express them selves, because this role is already impeccably occupied by the infinite number of tongues; which have been developed so beautifully since the dawn in which the first speech has been uttered. Everyday this diversity permits to every speaker to express the endless range of thoughts that are generated by every single mind, it makes mankind the only creature in the condition to dominate the world of existence by claiming the ownership with a simple action: to name everything they discover; amplifying every kind of dominion that could possibly be considered in the abstract or concrete form. What the future civilization, the next offspring that will inherit this planet would need is an auxiliary language, that would cover the lack that the world’s variety has produced and be a bridge connector to develop new patterns towards the rise of further latent conquests. For such a role English Language is already giving its silent contribution. As history has taught, once it will be taken seriously in consideration it will start to change and mutate at a higher speed rate, according to the necessity of an even smaller world of that in which we live in today. Since the one emerging now it is not a new born idiom, but a foetus still developing its features and organs. Eventually it will be delivered widely through a more organized and structured education’s system, and then every new generation, from that turning point on, will add its own to the refinement of the English Auxiliary World Language.
[1] Robert McCrum, British novelist, editor, and critic, in McCrum et al. (1986) The Story of English
