Language issue in the 21st century and the centuries ahead: an exercise in crystal-ball gazing

Abstract

Written in a speculative spirit, this paper is an attempt to take a peek into what the future might hold for the study of language. It takes into account the phenomenal changes that the world has undergone since the days when modern linguistics constituted itself as an academic discipline. It is argued that these changes call for a radical rethinking of some of the fundamental assumptions about language that have hardly ever been questioned until now.

A sneak peek at the future of what we have got used to calling (a) language

“…Irrespective of whether it turns out be one or the other, I propose to plunge into it in the paragraphs that follow. I do this because the prospects I see strike me as at once mind-boggling and exciting (Rajagopalan, 2019). And, to tell you the truth, frankly agreeableto my taste at least.…”