Life is change, and not just changing your socks, or underwear, or your “look”. There are tiny changes, and immense changes such as those the whole world experienced during the Covid pandemic and the subsequent confinement; changes in social contact and education. Currently, we are undergoing a radical change thanks to artificial intelligence. It has been with us for several decades now, but has recently had tremendous impact on business, language, and education.

Of course, we change our minds all the time; our ideas about things are constantly modified. In addition, our language changes with scientific, technological, social, economic, and educational advances. They may be subtle or drastic, local or global.

In the Google doc for the first unit of the Global Perspectives course I teach at the UPAEP University, we find an image of Emily Allchurch´s London Babel, a contemporary spin on Bruegel’s The Tower of Babel. The purpose is to begin “…(discussing) the effects of human interactions among cultures and regions” (Unit 1, 2023).

The story of the Tower Babel is told in the book of Genesis, chapter 11, 1-9. Here we find that Nimrod, leader of the descendants of Noah, planned to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. God was not pleased by these ambitions and to thwart them, He decided it was time for a change. In the New International Version of the Bible, we read:

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world.  From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Now, that is one helluva change!

This seems in answer to “Why do people speak different languages?” Obviously, the response is given in the context of a culture that had a wrathful and punitive god at a time before the advent of science and linguistics. 

If we take the Bible literally, we may be in a rather uncomfortable position given the current need for a common means of communication in the global world. Therefore, the concept of Babel will cause cognitive dissonance because we have a lingua franca with which to communicate with people “scattered over the face of the whole earth”. 

 Similarly, if one accepts that God created the world in seven days, six thousand years ago (May, 2007), conflict will arise because science, under the Big Bang theory, contends that the universe originated 13.7 billion years ago (May & Howell, 2023). Frankly, I am not a fundamentalist, but I had been thinking about this issue, as a sort of devil’s advocate. Nevertheless, since I take some of the assertions in the Bible with a grain of salt, I did not pursue the matter further.

Nevertheless, one day I changed my mind and decided to converse with ChatGPT about the theme. I asked: “How is English as the current lingua franca in opposition to the events of the Tower of Babel? The answer was amazing! To begin with, it clarified some terms. I quote below:

English, as a lingua franca, serves as a common language that enables people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds to communicate with each other, just as a shared language would have done before the Tower of Babel. However, unlike the original language, which was a natural and universal means of communication, English as a lingua franca is a learned language that is primarily used in international contexts and is not the mother tongue of most of its speakers. 

…the spread of English as a lingua franca is the result of historical, political, economic, and cultural factors, including the colonization of various parts of the world by English-speaking nations, the rise of the United States as a global superpower, and the dominance of English in science, technology, and the media…it reflects the complex and often unequal power relations that shape the global use of language today (Gaspar, February, 2023).

Kudos to ChatGPT! It sounds quite scholarly. However, I did not know what it meant by a “natural language”, so, I asked for its connotation:

When I refer to the original language, I am referring to the hypothetical language that is said to have been spoken by humans before the development of the many languages we know today. This language is sometimes referred to as “Proto-World” or “Proto-Human” …it would have developed through a gradual process of linguistic evolution…as opposed to constructed languages.

Currently, we who teach English as a lingua franca are not trying to reach the heavens. It is not hubris that drives us. We seek to “facilitate the exchange of ideas and promote cross cultural understanding”, as well as “the cultivation of compassion and empathy towards all beings” (op. cit.).

ChatGPT mentioned not only the positive and unifying aspects of a lingua franca, but also its potential limitations. “It can reflect and perpetuate the existing inequalities and power imbalances in society” as a whole. In addition, the cultural and linguistic biases of the English language, its connotations, associations, and assumptions remain embedded because the “development and evolution of language is shaped by the power dynamics” of whatever society (op. cit.).

In so far as the mission statement of the UPAEP University, it proposes change, though the term transformation is used: “Create streams of thought and to form leaders willing to transform society, in the search for Truth; integrating faith, science, and life” (Annual Report, 2022). As teachers of today’s lingua franca, we seek to form leaders who will change or transform society, including ourselves, in order to raise awareness and promote greater sensitivity and inclusivity in communication, collaboration, and solidarity.

A last point to mention refers to the language of science and the relationship between science and technology. Mathematics is called the language of science. Galileo Galilei is attributed with the quote “Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe” (Helmenstine, 2017). Would it be the same acrimonious God that destroyed the Tower of Babel?

In any case, ChatGPT submits the idea that mathematics is often considered a relatively “bias-free” language, in the sense that its rules and principles are based on logical and mathematical proof (sic) rather than on social, cultural, or historical factors, universal and independent of any particular language or culture. In contrast, it is not completely immune to the biases and limitations of the social and cultural context in which it is developed, and by the people who use and apply it (Gaspar, February, 2023).

In addition, there is technology as a tool.

Science and technology are closely intertwined, mutually influential, their relationship being symbiotic. Technology refers to the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, aiming to create tools, techniques, and products that improve human life and address societal needs. Technology and Artificial Intelligence are closely interconnected, with AI being a subset of technology (Gaspar, June. 2023).

As has been seen in these reflections using AI, we are loquacious actors rowing our boats in the stream of life. As such, shall we row merrily, merrily, merrily down this dream of change, contributing to transform society for the good of all?

I invite you to send me your own reflections and comments: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

References

Annual Report. (2022). UPAEP | Universidad, Puebla, Licenciaturas, Prepa, Maestría, Doctorado, Becas, Noticias, Deportes. Retrieved June 7, 2023, from https://upaep.mx/micrositios/informe2022/InformeIngles_compressed.pdf

Bible Gateway. (n.d.). Bible gateway passage: Genesis 11 - New international version. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011&version=NIV

Emily Allchurch | London Babel (after Breugel) (2015). Artsy — Discover, Buy, and Sell Fine Art. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/emily-allchurch-london-babel-after-breugel

Gaspar, J. (2023, February 16). English as a Lingua Franca. ChatGPT. https://chat.openai.com/share/73526b97-c534-4d2a-addf-1360e611758c

Gaspar, J. (2023, June 7). Relationship between Science & Technology. ChatGPT. https://chat.openai.com/share/0130927d-3b08-49ba-ae12-939773125473

Helmenstine, A. M. (2018, January 29). Why mathematics is a language. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/why-mathematics-is-a-language-4158142

Hodge, B. (2007, May 30). How old is the earth? Answers in Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/age-of-the-earth/how-old-is-the-earth/

May, A., & Howell, E. (2022, February 1). What is the Big Bang theory? Space.com. https://www.space.com/25126-big-bang-theory.html

The Tower of Babel. (n.d.). Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-tower-of-babel-pieter-bruegel-the-elder/bAGKOdJfvfAhYQ?hl=en

Unit 1_GP_2.0_Summer 2023. (n.d.). Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1al9juJHWoKbgVU9JvgnR0Lvhygz0pvFkEMwxTd-KAi0/edit#heading=h.6jynaot9cbnq