Space travel could create language unintelligible to people on Earth

[cheryl]

Space travel could create language unintelligible to people on Earth - Big Think

A new study looks at what would happen to human language on a long journey to other star systems.

• Researchers proposes that language could change dramatically on long space voyages.
• Spacefaring people might lose the ability to understand the people of Earth.
• This scenario is of particular concern for potential "generation ships."

Given the mounting crises of 2020, wouldn't it be nice to just get on a giant spaceship and leave this troubled planet behind? While we don't yet have a surefire candidate for the new Earth, and our tech is probably still decades if not centuries behind, proposals and achievements in interstellar travel are stacking up. A new study makes the fascinating case that if a group of humans were to venture out on a space journey that lasted generations, their language would likely change. It could evolve into something the people of the original Earth would not understand.