Im at work today (again) and we’ve been arguing about if the world was to sit down and choose a language we should all speak to breakdown our current communication flaws. What language would it be and why?
I believe we should as speak espaniol. I choose this language because its simple and beautiful in sound. It simplifies words and is sufficient in its vocabulary. It doesnt over use words either like english.
From an englishman.
Top Five Universal Languages:
Well, laughter and music are two of my votes.
Haha like number 5 Giraffe. Think I’d choose number 1 language as War in that case.
I’ll go with Math as described by a professor of mine - “The language of the universe and the Queen of the sciences.”
Incidentally, the professor was/is a linguist and the course was on the mathematical foundations of language.
We should speak ut.
uk is the perfect universal language. It only has one word: ut, and it is defined with perfect recursion.
Therefore:
ut
There, that sums up everything perfectly.
Zenster took my answer. Laughter and music are understood the world over. Then I’d throw in a little Russian just to mix things up a little.
chu mi devus diri ghin…?
matt_mcl, mi preskaux ne volas diri ion ankaux… 
Ah, but Bonvolu alsendi la pordiston, laushajne estas rano en mia bideo!
In any case, I’d suggest “Polyglot Pidgin.”
Ranchoth
(Jai Guru Deva Om, koo koo ga joob)
UTTTTTT!!!
I vote for pig latin.
mes amis, there is only one universal language.
Jive
dances off into the sunset
English. So then I can be lazy and not have to learn a new language. 
Why, actually, matt_mcl, Sunspace and Ranchoth, did Esperanto never make it? I have the impression, (but I could be wrong) that only highly educated, idealistic people in industrialized countries speak it, and only socially, for fun. Has there ever been a serious business transaction in Esperanto?
Mind reading. We should all take up mind reading and do away with pesky languages.
[Buffyt he Vampire Slayer]
Guess I won’t be writing that book “How to win friends through telepathy.”
[/BtVS]
Along the same lines as laughter, the smile is a universal symbol of happiness.
I had always thought that nodding to imply agreement and shaking your head side to side to say no was universal, but apparently there are some cultures that have it in reverse. Just sitting at my desk and nodding while saying no in my head feels funny.
Strut
It’s a simplified dialect of Ut with one less word in the vocabulary and a bit of body movement to show more subtle nuances of meaning.
[sub]Unfortunately it is very hard to type in Strut – which is why I reverted back to English.[/sub]
Maastricht, I’ve read that Esperanto seems to be most commonly spoken in areas where the main language is not one of the widely-spoken international ones. I know that it is most commonly spoken in Eastern Europe (its homeland), Brazil, and China.
Business transactions? Hmm. I don’t see a lot of them, but then I live in English-speaking North America, on eof the areas in the world where Esperanto is spoken least. There are publishers and magazines in Esperanto; there are international conferences in Esperanto; and I’ve seen ads from Bosch and the Star Alliance (airlines) in Esperanto.
Bear in mind that the total speaker population is somewhere around 2 million; they are very widely scattered, and they are also being served in one or more national languages. This is unlike other small languages such as Slovenian or Icelandic, whose populations are mostly located in one geographical area, and can support local businesses.
Businesses targeting Esperanto speakers can use low-overhead tactics and use the net and credit cards to speak to a worldwide population. If they want to use traditional more-expensive methods of advertising, they need to target concentrations of Esperanto speakers, such as at conferences.
Esperanto, like English, is useful for travellers. There are organizations who refer travellers to Esperanto-speakers in various countries, who can help with lodging and information. But because the number of Esperanto travellers is so much less than Engl;ish, these services tend to be run on a volunteer basis.
…OTOH, I have gotten advance-fee fraud spam in Esperanto, as well as offers to buy Brazilian religious tracts and Chinese aluminum. I guess it’s a real language after all.