Language – the bridge that brings the world together

THE EDITOR, Madam:

There is a mushrooming need to connect to the global village into which the world has been compressed. The rapid rise in the Internet and artificial intelligence (AI) ... seems to have displaced myriads of workers such as those in the postal services and others where the focus is on language communication.

Whether in entertainment, commerce or just love exchange, overcoming the barriers that languages can erect can be formidable yet crucial. A potentially rich man could perish as a result of the deficit of language. The English language and its companion, the Jamaican Creole (Patois), are means of survival and enrichment to those who use them, but they also highlight the need for incorporating other language competence into our range of communication. As the world expands in technological outreach it also becomes more narrow. The wider the language gap, the wider grows the division and difference which could potentially create the same handicap for the AI era. A people without a language link is like a computer without power. The information is all there but it cannot be shared.

It seems only logical, therefore, that to be truly connected globally, English and the Jamaica Creole cannot be the comfort zone of our language competence, in a world where several other languages are abuzz. An incorporation of French, Chinese, Spanish and several Asian languages should also form the general cadre for a modern and more robust international communication.

HOMER SYLVESTER

Mount Vernon, New York