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How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral
(www.technologyreview.com)
this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2025
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Language is absolutely political, a product of its specific environment, and there is a lot that can be communicated in one language that would be difficult in another. Erasing languages isn't like no longer manufacturing a specific style of plug, instead it silences viewpoints and enforces the cultural hegemony of the dominant group.
There's a reason fascists are fond of erasing the languages of the marginalized.
Like I said I don't advocate erasing languages. Just to have a common international language whichever it is. Local languages can still play a big role in cultural matters (eg literature and life on the street for locals)
I'm from Holland myself and I know most people there don't care so much about our quirky language, we are happy to speak other ones. It doesn't mean that Dutch is worth any less. Mind that it doesn't have to be English (especially now that the US is rapidly declining as a world power). But whatever it is, I wish the world would just pick one so I don't have to keep learning new languages every time I move.
But failing a global language perhaps AI translators will become so good and smooth to use that soon we can just communicate regardless of what languages we speak.