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Interstellar travel could have a direct influence on language

Man dreams of exploring new horizons and conquering space. For the moment, humanity does not have the means and the technology necessary to colonize new planets. Until the technology is advanced enough to allow humans to settle elsewhere than on Earth, researchers are conducting studies which aim to assess all the conditions necessary for the accomplishment of such a mission and the impacts it could have on humans.

In a study published in April 2020 in the journal Acta Futura, scientists suggested that interstellar travel could have a direct influence on the human language. The study, titled “Language Development During Interstellar Travel”, was conducted by Andrew McKenzie, professor of linguistics at the University of Kansas, and Jeffrey Punske, professor of linguistics at the University of Southern Illinois.

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These researchers tried to highlight the differences in language that there could be between humans of different generations who will be embarked on an interstellar journey aboard a generational ship.

Read also : Space travel may change our brains

A language that will evolve

The researchers assumed that in order to make an interstellar journey, humans will need a generational vessel. This spacecraft will be designed to transport men and women to other star systems on a journey that spans several generations.

According to McKenzie and Punske, the language will not remain the same aboard this ship, as it will evolve over the generations.

“If you’ve been on this ship for ten generations, new concepts will emerge, new social questions will arise, and people will create ways to talk about them,” explained Andrew McKenzie.

Read also : Space travel more complicated than expected?

An incomprehensible language on Earth

A trip to the nearest star system to Earth, which is 4.25 light years away, will take approximately 137,000 years. It will take roughly 4,566 generations to make such a trip.

Future generations who will survive on a generational ship could therefore speak a language that will be incomprehensible on Earth.

“People on Earth may never know these words, unless there is a reason to tell them. “

According to this study, such a mission requires the establishment of a “Enlightened linguistic policy on board which can be maintained without referring to land regulations. “




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