Which Language is Most Efficient?

CrowdScience

• Episode: Which Language is Most Efficient?
• Website: CrowdScience
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p04d42rc.rss
• Duration: 00:34:09
• Published: 2018-11-16 21:45

Communicating quickly, accurately and, ideally, in a way that's well-received is no easy feat, wherever you live in the world. For this week's listener, who lives and works in several different countries as a member of the armed forces, good communication can be a matter of life or death. And this doesn’t just affect military life – anyone who flies on aeroplanes may be interested to hear how clear use of language is crucial for airline safety. But what do we mean by an efficient language – it is the fastest and most accurate speech, or most widely understood in multiple countries? Maybe there’s even some technology – a machine out there that can do the communicating more efficiently than we can? Presenter Marnie Chesterton attempts to apply science and evidence to the art of speech, in a quest to discover what language is the most efficient on Earth. Produced by Jen Whyntie (Image: A group of people holding up speech bubbles sitting on a bench. Credit: Getty Images)