Chapter 15: A Closed System: Globish Limitations
Closed Systems give us less to remember, and more to agree on
“Closed System” means we accept certain sets of limitations in what we are doing. It makes life easier when we agree to operate within those Closed Systems. We also have many other Closed Systems. Buses and trains and airplanes usually have places to step on and off. We usually drive on just one side of the road. Cars coming the other way stay on the other side, because it is a closed system. Otherwise, either side of the road would be OK, and there would be huge problems.
So…. why can’t a language be a Closed System?
This is why Globish is most useful, as a Closed System, a language built on common limitations. You know what you have to learn, and can do so with less effort. And when you use it, you know all the rules that the other people know. It is based on reasonable limitations that non-native English speakers have when they use English. What we have been discussing in this book are main elements of that Closed System:
Globish is limited to 1500 words
Globish has limited ways of using words.
Globish has limited length sentences.
Globish is limited to understanding.
Globish has no limits in using hands, face, or body.