How Future Space Travel Could Create Language Communication Problems
2020-07-20
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1Scientists and engineers are preparing for possible travel into interstellar space, the area in between stars, in the distant future.
2A new report examines the possible problem of changes in language on long space trips.
3Only two spacecraft from Earth have reached the mysterious area known as interstellar space.
4Scientists identify interstellar space as the area outside the area of particles and magnetic fields created by the sun.
5Experts believe it will likely take many years before the technology and equipment are developed to send humans to this unexplored area of space.
6But if it does happen, massive spaceships could carry humans on long trips to distant stars.
7Two American researchers have explored one possible problem with such travel.
8They considered the possibility that changes in human language could develop over time and lead to major communication problems with people on Earth.
9The language experts are professors Andrew McKenzie from the University of Kansas, and Jeffrey Punske, of Southern Illinois University.
10The two recently published a paper on the subject that appears in the European Space Agency's online publication Acta Futura.
11The paper considers very long trips necessary to reach interstellar space, estimated to be about 18 billion kilometers from Earth.
12It also examines the possibility of future colonization of distant stars.
13Languages naturally change as communities grow more isolated from each other, the researchers note in the paper.
14The long isolation of a community could lead to enough differences in language to make it impossible for community members back home to understand.
15"If you're on this (spaceship) for 10 generations, new concepts will emerge, new social issues will come up, and people will create ways of talking about them," McKenzie said in a statement.
16Such vocabulary would become specific to only that spaceship.
17"People on Earth might never know about these words, unless there's a reason to tell them. And the further away you get, the less you're going to talk to people back home," McKenzie said.
18The researchers noted that in addition to new words being used, the language of people traveling on spaceships and living in colonies would experience many other changes.
19For example, the sounds of different letters would likely change over time, affecting not only individual words, but the whole "grammatical system," the paper states.
20Major changes in word and sentence structure could also create systematic language barriers over time, the researchers said.
21"Given more time, new grammatical forms can completely replace current ones," McKenzie said.
22The paper provides examples of how languages developed on our own planet because communities became isolated over time.
23Examples include "the Polynesian settlement of far-flung Pacific islands, and dialect development in relatively isolated European colonies."
24McKenzie identified an example of a major language change on Earth during modern times.
25He described a way of speaking called "uptalk," when speakers end statements with a rising tone.
26He said this way of speaking is often mistaken for a question tone by those who are not aware of it.
27"Uptalk has only been observed occurring within the last 40 years, but has spread from small groups of young Americans and Australians to most of the English-speaking world," McKenzie said.
28The researchers say one possible solution to limit communication problems would be to include language experts on spaceship crews.
29Another suggestion is to use sign language as a form of communication.
30McKenzie added that space travelers might question whether it is even worth trying to learn how to communicate with people on Earth.
31But he believes there will always be a need, even if it is very limited.
32"You have to learn a little Earth English to send messages back, or to read the instruction manuals and information that came with the ship," he said.
33I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Scientists and engineers are preparing for possible travel into interstellar space, the area in between stars, in the distant future. 2A new report examines the possible problem of changes in language on long space trips. 3Only two spacecraft from Earth have reached the mysterious area known as interstellar space. Scientists identify interstellar space as the area outside the area of particles and magnetic fields created by the sun. 4Experts believe it will likely take many years before the technology and equipment are developed to send humans to this unexplored area of space. But if it does happen, massive spaceships could carry humans on long trips to distant stars. 5Two American researchers have explored one possible problem with such travel. They considered the possibility that changes in human language could develop over time and lead to major communication problems with people on Earth. 6The language experts are professors Andrew McKenzie from the University of Kansas, and Jeffrey Punske, of Southern Illinois University. The two recently published a paper on the subject that appears in the European Space Agency's online publication Acta Futura. 7The paper considers very long trips necessary to reach interstellar space, estimated to be about 18 billion kilometers from Earth. It also examines the possibility of future colonization of distant stars. 8Languages naturally change as communities grow more isolated from each other, the researchers note in the paper. The long isolation of a community could lead to enough differences in language to make it impossible for community members back home to understand. 9"If you're on this (spaceship) for 10 generations, new concepts will emerge, new social issues will come up, and people will create ways of talking about them," McKenzie said in a statement. Such vocabulary would become specific to only that spaceship. 10"People on Earth might never know about these words, unless there's a reason to tell them. And the further away you get, the less you're going to talk to people back home," McKenzie said. 11The researchers noted that in addition to new words being used, the language of people traveling on spaceships and living in colonies would experience many other changes. 12For example, the sounds of different letters would likely change over time, affecting not only individual words, but the whole "grammatical system," the paper states. 13Major changes in word and sentence structure could also create systematic language barriers over time, the researchers said. "Given more time, new grammatical forms can completely replace current ones," McKenzie said. 14The paper provides examples of how languages developed on our own planet because communities became isolated over time. Examples include "the Polynesian settlement of far-flung Pacific islands, and dialect development in relatively isolated European colonies." 15McKenzie identified an example of a major language change on Earth during modern times. He described a way of speaking called "uptalk," when speakers end statements with a rising tone. He said this way of speaking is often mistaken for a question tone by those who are not aware of it. "Uptalk has only been observed occurring within the last 40 years, but has spread from small groups of young Americans and Australians to most of the English-speaking world," McKenzie said. 16The researchers say one possible solution to limit communication problems would be to include language experts on spaceship crews. Another suggestion is to use sign language as a form of communication. 17McKenzie added that space travelers might question whether it is even worth trying to learn how to communicate with people on Earth. But he believes there will always be a need, even if it is very limited. "You have to learn a little Earth English to send messages back, or to read the instruction manuals and information that came with the ship," he said. 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the University of Kansas and Acta Futura. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 20________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22isolate - v. separate someone or something from other people or things 23concept - n. an idea or principle 24emerge - v. appear from somewhere 25vocabulary - n. all the words in a particular language 26dialect - n. a form of language people speak in a particular part of a country 27tone - n. the quality of a sound 28occur - v. to happen 29manual - n. a book that contains directions for doing something