It is argued that the annual extinction of many languages is not a problem because having just a few languages leads to a more convenient life. It is disagreed that the convenience of using just a few key languages makes the dying out of less spoken dialects acceptable. This essay will first discuss the importance of language to culture and secondly the fact that learning a few common languages is unrealistic, followed by a reasoned conclusion.

A language is not just a group of spoken words but the key to someone’s culture. Language has evolved over thousands of years to reflect what it means to be from a particular place. For example, the Irish language has one of the widest vocabularies in the world and reflects their tradition of storytelling. Despite this, English has become the first language of the Irish, as many feel it makes it easier to communicate with the world.

By speaking just a couple of languages, such as English and Chinese, you alienate billions of people throughout the world. English may be common, but it is not the ‘lingua franca’ many people think it is and it would take generations for everyone to learn it.  Countries like Korea and Vietnam have been trying to adopt English as a second language for a long time, but most of their people still can’t fully grasp it.  However, English has been the language of business for a long time and it should be encouraged to help a country become more economically competitive.

To conclude, commonly spoken languages may make life more straightforward, but this should not be at the expense of less prevalent languages, in order to avoid the erosion of culture and the alienation of many countries.