The end of the written language

"What should we call each other?", said Isobel. "Well, we could always start with Mrs Crawley and Lady Grantham", replied Violet. With that dialogue we are ushered into Downtown Abbey
, a British country house where a TV drama unfolds at the beginning of the XXth century.

Hearing the servants talk to each is a striking reminder of how much language has evolved: "Might I remind you we are preparing dinner?" sounds too convoluted today. Watching the show from a XXIst century perspective you can't help but ask:

Why all the formal language?

And why all the formal demeanour and manners? The Edwardian period shows more restraint and control. Physical contact is rare, communication is less explicit and sentences are generally longer (sometimes because the message carries additional information like class, deference or sarcasm).

Today, even in the upper strata of society, we are less formal, more explicit, more relaxed with our posture and less strict in our use of the language. Will this trend continue? And if so, where could it take us?

Will we use shorter, informal utterances? Will our posture be even more relaxed (feet on the table, crouching and slouching) and will our sentences become even simpler?

An obvious example is TXT-speak, where abbreviations, slang and pictograms enable rapid written communication. Many adults are horrified, but wouldn't a XIXth century aristocrat and scholar be horrified by our casual conversations?

This travel through the evolution of language led me to make a bolder extrapolation: Could we dispense with the written word in the future? It may seem completely unrealistic, but current technology trends suggest it's not so far-fetched. Consider the following:

• Young people are reading less [1], [2], [3]
• People are consuming more images and video [4]
• Computers are getting better at simulating reality [5], [6]

We are certainly not there yet, but according to certain estimates supercomputers are reaching the speed necessary to create realistic simulations of reality. This means that you could be in a room, look around you, and not know if the walls and windows are real or simulated. Light would behave the way physics dictates and no flickering would be perceived.

Now imagine if this computing power became portable some time in the future. Would you write your story or would you let people live the story in a virtual world. Wouldn't that chapter on the Han Dynasty be more engaging if you could travel to 200 BC Chang'an and meet the emperor Gaozu. All set in a 3d setting indistinguishable from reality (ignoring smell, taste, and the sensory experience). The simulation could also include peasants, artisans ... or whatever details the artists and creators chose to include in their 'description'. You would be able to explore both space (move) and time (pause, rewind, or fast forward).

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The hypothetical programming language for this world would give various primitives from which to build worlds: 3D landscapes, characters, animals, shapes, rules of physics, etc. And of course other stories would be possible: Like a lecture in mathematics where the concepts would come alive.

Could these communication channel take over the written word? Experiences would be shared as visual immersive experiences. Fantasies or essays could be equally built using this format.

Some will argue that this 3d-video experience (to give it a name) will never replace books or articles. Wouldn't it hinder our imagination and creativity? I don't think it would.

The written word was created to transmit thoughts and experiences, not because symbols on a flat surface are particularly human. The written word certainly killed the minstrels (who also captivated the imagination of the audience with their masterful communication). I think a 3D realistic and programmable environment which can be easily stored and retrieved could eventually substitute books, magazines and articles. Creativity, imagination and the possibilities of content creation would simply be redefined.

The details of such a transition are of course difficult to predict. Obvious unknowns are the timing, the hardware or even whether our civilization will continue to successfully develop technology given the energy and resource constraints.

Languages have evolved over millennia. However, 600 years ago, the movable type printing impacted literature, culture and religion which in turn influenced technology and language. Over the last 15 years, technology has modified our communication again (examples are txt-speak, twitter, hyper-links, semantic web, or the dominance of English). The next 20 years may see new and unexpected forms of communication arise. Although I have mixed feelings about it ... I think I may live to see the decline of the written language.

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[1]: Young People Reading a lot less, 2007

[2]: OECD insights, Children reading less but enjoying it as much

[3]: Statistics Brain on Reading

[4]: The Colossal Growth of Online Video

[5]: Toward the Graphics Turing Scale on a Blue Gene Supercomputer - ArXiv

[6]: Practical Implementation of a Graphics Turing Test

[7]: Virtual Reality Can Leave You With an Existential Hangover