[Korimyr the Rat]

Apologies if there's a more appropriate forum for this, but it was started here.

Yes, the benefits of having a "universal" language are becoming more obvious to people. It is too bad that a culturally "neutral" language could not have been adopted, since that would leave a lot less ruffled feathers (people fear losing their cultural "identity").

I really don't think it's too late for that; culturally-neutral languages, among other things, are typically designed to be far easier to learn than natural languages.

You can also typically maintain an artificial language easily alongside your first natural language-- giving less incentive for languages to simply die out.

I've personally been trying to get everyone I can convince to learn Loglan, but so far I'm the only person I know who's working on it.

This is of course, typical. I'm sure that when more of the world adopts Technocracy, this will all get sorted out.

Perhaps, perhaps.

[Russkie]

I don't think languages are a problem anymore in cyber space. There are numerous translators online that are free. They even have build-in translators in some games that can translate the chatting comments from a guy in China for example, for you.

[Pilgrim]

In cyberspace, but not in person... Also, many of the internet translators are faulty.

Somewhat like Kolzene, I don't think it will be possible for universal language to come into effect, until some form of globalism is achieved.

[Maxim Litvinov]

You aren't going to create a culturally-neutral language. The best you can do is create one that tries very hard to absorb elements of a lot of different languages, and indeed the harder you try this the less your new language is anything like what's currently in existence.

Furthermore, the flavour of your language will be forever 'tainted' by its speaking public, so if they are generally people who speak English as a first language, you'll have more problems keeping it 'culturally neutral'.

One of the best ways to get to a 'culturally neutral' statement would simply be to try to find concepts that are present in a vast majority of cultures and use them and simple common words to convert 'English' into 'culturally non-specific English', and the same with other languages (Spanish into 'culturally nondescript Spanish').

[Korimyr the Rat]

You aren't going to create a culturally-neutral language. The best you can do is create one that tries very hard to absorb elements of a lot of different languages, and indeed the harder you try this the less your new language is anything like what's currently in existence.

I would encourage you to read more at the Loglan website. The main goal of the language was to be maximally logical and neutral, to allow laboratory testing of linguistic hypotheses-- its desirability as a international second language is more of a side effect.

Furthermore, the flavour of your language will be forever 'tainted' by its speaking public, so if they are generally people who speak English as a first language, you'll have more problems keeping it 'culturally neutral'.

This is a problem with Loglan, whose speakerbase is almost entirely first-speakers of English or Russian. It's my hope to try to expand that, but I have no idea how to reach people that I don't already have a language in common with.

Perhaps by reaching more English-speakers, I'll reach someone who can reach other languages-- and there's at least a chance that the Russian speakerbase is trying to expand, as well. (Unfortunately, it's a very small speakerbase with no real outreach program.)