The linguasphere is the continuous system of human languages, extended around Earth over at least 500 centuries by communities of Homo sapiens loquens – or rather Persona loquens, “speaking person”.
- David Dalby - Institut Galilée - Villetaneuse 14/10/2011
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The internal diversity of the linguasphere, within a fundamental planetary unity, has provided the dynamic plurilingual framework necessary for the collective progress of human reflection, communication & creativity. Having now become orbital, the linguasphere may be observed and studied as the most fundamental, cumulative & collective of all human creations.
The planetary continuity of the linguasphere had been obscured by its geographic fragmentation. Thanks to its present “orbitalisation”, we at last have the opportunity & the means to reach a better understanding of its evolution and of its potential for the future.
Earth, the only life‑supporting planet in the observable universe, has in fact evolved us as its own “caretaker species”, equipped with our own peripheral sensory & cognitive system covering the Earth’s surface & beyond.
There is now need for a transnational & interdisciplinary research programme for “Modelling the Linguasphere”. This will need to begin with a reconstruction of the following three stages in the history of the linguasphere, measured against human demographic & cultural evolution.
1. The “launch” of the linguasphere
is evidenced by the rapid advance of human creativity during the Upper Paleolithic era. The ludic expansion of pre-existing language skills by juvenile homo sapiens may have led to a mental “take-off” point, at which the assembled lexical, phonological & grammatical components required for articulate speech would have reached the necessary critical mass.
Such auto-generated linguistic “software” would have enabled small communities to make full use of the cerebral, vocal & manual “hardware” which evolution had brought together in their genes. Those communities of the new Persona loquens recorded clear artistic evidence for us, below the Earth’s surface, that our own species of social animal had broken through a barrier of personal & collective consciousness.
As the linguasphere advanced across Africa & Eurasia, & around the world, only communities which could make full use of articulate speech could compete & survive. As a result, the unique human species of Persona loquens became physically more uniform. The essential benefits of diversity were transferred to languages themselves, as the linguasphere took shape around the planet as a kaleidoscopic system of continually diverging sub-systems or “community languages”.
2. The acceleration stage of the linguasphere
The subsequent “acceleration stage” of the linguasphere was powered by the plurilingual spread of writing over the last 50 centuries, including printing in an increasing number of languages over the last 500 years.
But the dark side of the human mind led also to the early realisation that the unequal distribution of the benefits of writing would be a source of power & barbarity, often manipulated through so-called “collective memory”- hence the power of individuals over their own community, of one community over others, or of men to the disadvantage of women.
Hence the paradox that that the written linguasphere opens global pathways to personal freedom, while also maintaining prisons of the mind. An important part of humankind is still fettered by chains of words forged by their ancestors, or is trapped outside the closed doors of the written word.
Hence the paradox that that the written linguasphere opens global pathways to personal freedom, while also maintaining prisons of the mind. An important part of humankind is still fettered by chains of words forged by their ancestors, or is trapped outside the closed doors of the written word.
3. The orbital stage of the linguasphere
The latest “orbital stage” of the linguasphere has been powered by the exponential global spread of electronic communications. This "giant leap” of human endeavour, putting the linguasphere into orbit, gives humankind the chance of becoming a planetary organism (following the long established success of a more modest global species, the Arctic tern).
To its primary role as a cerebral & communicational “tool-kit”, these second & third stages of the linguasphere have added its role as a plurilingual “permanent memory” for the storage & diffusion of cumulative knowledge, the common heritage of every person
The Observatoire linguistique, which launched the term “linguasphere” in the 1990’s , invites interdisciplinary collaboration in creating a diachronic model of the linguasphere, from its origins to the near future. Strategic planning will be needed to ensure that the planet may benefit from the advantages of human unity without losing those of human diversity.
Putting the linguasphere into orbit has been a giant leap towards evolving a peripheral sensory & cognitive system around “pluriplanet” Earth.