From @YaleVM.YCC.YALE.EDU:LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET Fri Aug 20 11:10:44 1993 Received: from ELI.CS.YALE.EDU by NEBULA.SYSTEMSZ.CS.YALE.EDU via SMTP; Fri, 20 Aug 1993 15:12:53 -0400 Received: from YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU by eli.CS.YALE.EDU via SMTP; Fri, 20 Aug 1993 15:12:49 -0400 Message-Id: <199308201912.AA16787@eli.CS.YALE.EDU> Received: from CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU by YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9777; Fri, 20 Aug 93 15:11:32 EDT Received: from CUVMB.COLUMBIA.EDU by CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU (Mailer R2.07) with BSMTP id 3131; Fri, 20 Aug 93 15:14:03 EDT Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1993 15:10:44 EDT Reply-To: Juan Parra Sender: Lojban list From: Juan Parra Subject: Language Evolution X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: Erik Rauch Status: RO X-Status: Dear netters, Knowing three languages, I wonder why the languages have kept static for so many years, centuries regarding to grammar stuctures and communication. Languages have suffered dramatic changes in phonetics and pronunciation, however their structures are falling behind the communication needs of this era. In fact, I don't recall what is the field of linguistics which should deal with this issue? Is there anybody of you working is this field? If so, can you post some information on what has been done regarding this matter? I understand that changing the structures of any language is rather difficult. But my view is pointing out more to the relationship between language-structures and communication. Maybe, at the moment there is not an urgent need for changes, nevertheless heading for the 21th century the gap is going to grow larger and larger. The new and effective ways of communication are letting behind the static nature of the language (any language). Communication is getting and reaching faster than ever, so I don't see how languages can keep up with it, without suffering major reforms. In fact, I realize the only things that have evolved over the centuries are the pronunciation and the vocabulary. Grammar, syntax, orthography remain practically unchanched. The bottom line is that those changes were made to compensate the statics of the structures, to communicate more effectively. Here is my point: what if the language were less complex leading us to understand ourselves in a much faster and efficient way... ************************************* * Juan M. Parra * * Universite Laval * * Electrical Engineering Dept. * ********************************************************************** * Address * tel: (418) 688-7922 * * Juan M. Parra * fax: (418) 656-3159 * * C.P. 9976 succ. Ste-Foy * * * Ste-Foy, Quebec * e-mail: juparra@gel.ulaval.ca * * Canada G1V 4C5 * j.parra@ieee.org * **********************************************************************