Communication With Extraterrestrial Life Could Be Challenging When Humans Encounter Them Due to Language Barriers, Experts Claim

Communication is challenging between two individuals who do not share a common language. Luckily, several forms of non-verbal communication are common in some languages. Novels, movies, and TV shows have portrayed for many decades what communication would be like between humans and extraterrestrial beings.

For instance, Steven Spielberg's 1977 film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" showed that extraterrestrials communicate using five-note sequences, while the one in the 1982 film "E.T." learned basic English from a children's show to communicate. But how about communicating with extraterrestrials? How would humans even begin to speak with them?

Extraterrestrial Beings Most Likely Do Not Speak the Same As Humans

Exo-linguistics experts are working on ways to speak to extraterrestrial beings in case they might actually show up in the future. Linguist Keren Rice told Live Science that basic communication between extraterrestrials and humans could be possible if the two species have the same conceptual system.

On the other hand, American linguist Noam Chomsky said in a 1983 interview with author John Gliedman that it would be impossible for humans to naturally learn the language of extraterrestrial civilization because it violates universal grammar is inborn in humans. To put it in simpler terms, this means that humans are wired to learn human language and not any language other than that.

He added that scientists should approach it slowly and laboriously, like how people study physics, in which it takes generations to gain new understanding and make significant progress.

Moreover, Daily Star reported another problem with communication between humans and extraterrestrials is that language evolves and might not be the same for both species. That might also mean that both may have different non-verbal communication cues.

But then again, there is also a chance that extraterrestrials who might be more advanced than humans have spent their time studying the human language to make contact and save inhabitants of Earth the trouble of learning their language.

Should Humans Try to Contact Intelligent Civilizations in Outer Space?

According to NASA, there are about 4,000 exoplanets that have been discovered and considered "confirmed" to date. But there are thousands more that are still in the "candidate" category that would be promoted as planets once further investigations are completed and prove that they are planets.

With the number of exoplanets, scientists, of course, believe that they might also host life or intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations. Some say that they have solved the Fermi Paradox and believe that in terms of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), the question now is how crowded is the universe and whether it would be wise for humans to communicate with them.

A few years ago, famous British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking suggested that communicating with extraterrestrials might turn out to be a threat to Earth. He explained that a visit from other civilizations might turn ugly, like what happened centuries ago when the West started colonizing other countries.

It is a similar concern to other scientists, who believe it will be game over for humans if other civilizations find Earth. However, they also think finding the truth about our space neighbors in the universe is still important.

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