Creating an international language that enables almost everyone on Earth to communicate verbally and in writing with one another, without the need for a translator, seems like a marvelous idea.
But words in one language are often difficult to translate literally into another one. Translating all the words in all the languages on Earth into one may be virtually impossible.
Some Past Efforts at an International Language
At the time the United States was founded, French was arguably the closest thing to an international language. Invitations to events involving persons whose native tongues varied were often printed in French.
The common current practice of including the abbreviation RSVP (for a French phrase meaning "please respond" in English) on formal invitations in the United States likely goes back to that time when French played a leading role in international communication.
Currently English is arguably the closest thing to an international language. Many government and business functions are conducted in English in nations where various other languages are the countries' main languages.
Sign languages can also be considered a form of international communication among persons living in various nations who use the same sign language.
However, several different sign languages exist. An article on Avantpage 1 discusses various sign languages used in the United States.
Google Translate and cell phones with language translation capabilities are marvelous for helping persons with different languages communicate with one another. Such translation methods are not perfect, but they do pretty well.
Perhaps the best known constructed international language is Esperanto. It was created "in 1887 by Dr. L. L. Zamenhof" according to the Esperanto-USA website. 2 Various other sources cite the same year of creation and creator.
While many still hold high hopes for Esperanto, it has never attracted as many speakers as any of the numerous major world languages.
So far, efforts to create a common international language on Earth among humans seem to be unsuccessful.
My Efforts at Learning Other Languages
I only speak and write English. I respect persons who are fluent in multiple languages.
I took one year of Spanish in high school, but I know few Spanish words. I took one class in German for reading knowledge in college, and think I remember no German.
When I seek to understand words in another language, I turn to Google Translate on my cell phone or something else, such as a dictionary.
Below is a photo of some foreign language textbooks and dictionaries for translating between English and other languages that I own.
Could a Common Language Create Problems?
The Bible (Genesis 11:1-9) tells of all persons on Earth sharing the same language and God altering their language to limit human potential. I don't claim to know if that account is literally true.
But what if modern-day people all used one language and united for some selfish, harmful purpose? The combined evil efforts of persons from different nations and cultures could indeed be horrendous, perhaps to places in the universe far beyond the Earth as well as to our planet.
Closing Thoughts
Maybe we ought to focus on creating universal morals and implementing them, rather than on creating an international language.
Attaining ethical behavior worldwide is preferable to attaining a common language worldwide. Could both be achieved together? I don't know.
As I see it, both are worthy goals. But both will remain out of reach in the near future, unless God intervenes on our behalf in some miraculous way. However, I do believe in God and in miracles.
NOTE:
This article was last revised on January 6, 2026.
ENDNOTES:
1 "Types of Sign Language Used in the United States"; Avantpage;
2 "Esperanto-USA"; Esperanto-USA website; webpage accessed January 5, 2026; https://esperanto-usa.org/
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