You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer 1: (Disagreement)
It is a fact that there are a lot of languages in this world, but every year several of the languages just disappear. A group of people believe that the extinction of some languages is not a crucial problem since communication will be more effective with fewer languages. Although some people think that the extinction of some languages is not a serious problem, I do believe that the diversity of the world languages has a lot of benefits for the individual and the society as well.
To begin with, it is undeniable that out of hundreds of languages that have existed, few languages extinct every year. It is believed that the disappearance was due to the globalisation and the westernisation of the European and American, which have forced people to communicate in International languages such as English, German or French. Other people have an opinion that the extinction of the languages is not a serious threat to the world since most of them that die out are minority languages which are spoken by several people. Therefore they would not make a significant impact on the world. Besides that, the usage of several international languages has made business interaction or diplomatic negotiation among nations or continents become easier.
On the other hand, the uncountable number of languages that have existed shows the uniqueness of the world cultures. It is necessary to maintain the diversity of the world languages since each of the languages represents the identity of a community or a tribe. Besides that, although some of the languages might only be spoken by several people, it has an important function. Many of the traditional myths are written or documented in the minority languages, and if they die out, then the culture would also be lost.
In conclusion, I personally disagree with the opinion that with only several languages that exist in the world, life will be easier. I believe that the variety of languages shows the richness of the world civilisations and they should be passed to the next generation.
[ Written by – Darwin Lesmana ]
Sample answer 2: (Agreement)
Perhaps the human is the only living creature that has distinctive and diverse languages to communicate each other. The primary means of languages is to communicate effectively. Each nation, tribes and country has their unique language and these languages and their formations were quite different than the way see them now. If communication is the main reason we have our own languages, I would opine that the fewer languages are far better for effective communication and hence we should not worry that much because some of the languages are getting extinct.
Some would argue that a language preserves the culture, tradition and history of a group of people. That’s true to a certain extent and it is not impossible to decipher the history when the language is no longer alive. For instance, have not our researchers in modern time deciphered the manuscripts and written symbols of cultures and civilisations that no longer exist?
The changes of languages and their evaluation cannot be prevented. Even the modern English we nowadays use is much different than it had been a century ago. Language changes because people need better and easier communication way. From this regards, if some rich and modern languages are used throughout the world, the communication among people would be better than ever. This would reduce the language and cultural barrier we have in our world.
Languages which are getting lost are mostly spoken by fewer people. It is not uncommon that only a few people speak a particular language and that’s why it is in danger. Most of such languages are spoken by a tribe and people of this tribe have developed in terms of education and lifestyle and have accepted a new language. In some cases, we should put more priority on people’s life standard rather than focusing on the language they speak.
Finally, modernization is a natural trend and we cannot prevent it. The prominent languages of the world would prevail and they would be spoken and used by more people as a natural trend. The fewer the languages, richer and more effective they would be.
In conclusion, we should foster and accept the diversity of languages because of its uniqueness and tradition but should also accept the natural trends of modernization and evolving nature of a language. We should not worry too much about a language’s disappearance and should accept the fact that fewer languages in the world mean better communication and better understanding among nations.
Sample Sample 3: (Disagreement)
Language bridges individual across the globe. Annually, several languages are eliminated in this modern society. Some sociology experts believe that people can live easily if they can communicate clearly with other nationalities. They suggest that few languages must be studied, however, I do not agree with this belief because other languages contribute to the ancient culture and civilisation.
We can never deny others, who believe that studying several languages are stressful and difficult. For example, understanding Nihonggo requires intensive study of words and idioms. In addition, their structure in writing is different from other countries. As a result, it becomes a burden on other people to study the language they are not used to. Moreover, they become exhausted and confused if they are not familiar with the country’s culture. According to others, studying single language removes communication barriers across the world. As an example, using English as a capital language unites a majority of people around the world. People using this language can easily understand each other because it is normally taught in school. If people uses single language then the communication will not b a problem.
However, in other parts of the country, language is considered part of their culture. As an example, civilisation in Egypt is born because of language and communication. More so Spain has one language because it resembles their identity and pride. Language cannot be easily taken from other countries because of its historical significance. People should not be encapsulated in a limited language.
To conclude, other people consider studying fewer languages as the uncomplicated task; however certain languages resemble historical value and should be given importance.
[ Written by – Chino A. Boque ]
Sample Answer 4: (Disagreement)
In today’s modern world, we are constantly combating with the issue of disappearance of languages around the globe on newspaper. Some people are of the opinion that it will not cause any negative impacts on us; in return, they can lead a simple lifestyle as they do not need to learn so many languages in the twenty-first century. However, I strongly disagree with this view because it will bring numerous detrimental side effects to our lives.
Language, undoubtedly, is the identity of one’s race which every race in the world has its own language to speak on. It is, in fact, should be learnt by every individual so that they can pass on their specific language to their descendants. Nevertheless, a study conducted in India suggested that every Indian in India knows how to speak Tamil whereas not all Indians in Malaysia can communicate with their friends or family using Tamil. Thus, it is apparent that we will soon end up with only one or two languages if we do not take effective preventive measures to avoid the disappearance of languages from happening.
Certainly, fewer languages in the world would mean many cultures and traditions will be eventually lost in the near future. It is because cultures and traditions of one’s race can only be well-learnt through its own language. Without learning a specific language which will finally die out one day, some cultures which are the key feature of a race will be forgotten by themselves. According to a recent research, it has shown that more and more cultures and traditions are losing at a fast pace following the disappearance of some languages in some countries in the past ten years. Thus, when languages die out, the cultures and traditions will inevitably disappear from this world too.
In conclusion, I believe the loss of numerous languages will definitely cause many unanticipated negative impacts on our lives and hence we should take some useful and yet effective ways to protect them and pass on to our children.
[ Written by – Lee Wing Qeen ]
Sample answer 5: (Disagreement)
In our modern society, the question whether fewer languages in the world are better and easier for our daily life has been widely discussed. A fair portion of people believes that it is important to keep as many languages as we can, while others hold the opposite point of view. As for me, I side with the former one.
First, different languages present their own history and culture. For example, the Chinese language is similar to the one used in the old times. Although China has thousands of years of history, since the language has been exited all the time, it is not hard to understand our history and culture well. Once the Chinese language dies out, people who speak other languages, such as English and French, would not know what Chinese festivals holidays celebrate for, and what the meanings of all architectures in Forbidden City. In this case, languages are the crucial way to learn culture and history. Therefore, we should keep the diversity of languages in the world.
Second, if only a few languages are used in our world, we would lose numerous precious of knowledge written in certain languages. For instance, if English, French, Spanish and Chinese become the only four languages using in the whole world, it is impossible for people to understand well about how to make Japanese tea, and how to cook Japanese and Korean food, such as sushi and kimchi. It might be convenient and easy for people to communicate in our daily life by using only a few languages. However, if it happens, we would only know less information written by a limited number of languages.
In conclusion, we should try our best to keep as many languages as we can to prevent culture and knowledge lost.
[ Written by – Wang Zhe, Veta ]
Sample Answer 6: (Agreement)
It is true that numerous languages are disappearing in every year due to the greater influence of international language. Even though this phenomenon creates negative impacts on society, I am of the opinion that it makes life far easier and more convenient in much broader ways.
To begin with, communication of people from different nations would be much more easy and effective, if there are fewer languages. A case in point is that people do not need to learn new vernacular languages of others as well as never face the difficulties of the language barrier. This would result in an increase in people’s basic ability to socialise and interact with each other on a day-to-day basis. For example, it is often the case that people communicate with foreigners through the social network with the only help of English language, which is considered as the international language and they also share their views and ideas that are global in scale.
In addition, this trend cuts down social and cultural discrimination among people to a great extent as the majority of them use a common language in order to maintain the social relationship irrespective of country, race, religion, economic status and so on. For instance, in England, there is a little social-status difference among English people, whereas Indians show remarkable social, cultural and religious discriminations owing to a large number of local languages for each state.
However, there is another line of thought that, it destroys traditional art forms of entertainment, which are predominantly based on local language and culture. To make it more clear, people cannot enjoy the performing art forms of a place, if they are not familiar with vernacular language so it is vital that government should take measures to prevent further deteriorating effects.
In conclusion, fewer languages always help to improve communication process across the world and foster community spirit and unity among individuals, despite some detrimental effects on local art forms and cultures.
[ Written by – Joy Thomas ]