Publish at May 21 2026 Updated May 21 2026
The myth of Babel is well known: this great tower built by a humanity united under a single language was destroyed by God, who then condemned humans to converse in different languages. But what of history? Did mankind ever speak the same language?
It's hard for historians to say, since it was the invention of writing that made it possible to track linguistic evolution. However, many suspect that it was the ability to express oneself verbally that "domesticated" the first hominids, who moved on from physical violence to words and, eventually, agreements and compromises.
In fact, even today's best-known languages did not take this form. Post-revolution France didn't speak normative French at all. Each region had its own lexemes, accents and expressions. To create the French Republic, the authorities worked to impose the language spoken in Paris. Others also dreamed of universal languages as a common foundation. If Esperanto is the best-known example, it was preceded by Volapük, which made its way from Europe to Asia, via America. However, its creator's intransigence on the established rules led to the exodus of its speakers.
A language that survives adapts and transforms itself. Moreover, those that die out bury cultures. American First Nations have seen their mother tongues eliminated by U.S. authorities intent on "killing the Indian to save the man". Fortunately, some individuals are trying to revive these specific, telluric languages, linked to the environment where these peoples lived. What if, somewhere along the line, the idea wasn't to find a common language, but a way of being understood by everyone while retaining their own unique linguistic touch?
Running time: 25 minutes
Image: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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