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Q&A Is there any way to get around having everyone in the world speak the same language? [closed]

You see this a lot in fantasy fiction, where everyone on the planet (and sometimes beyond) speaks the same language, even though it makes absolutely no logical sense for them to have any knowledge ...

6 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:00:25Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/33416
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:00:25Z (about 5 years ago)
You see this a lot in fantasy fiction, where everyone on the planet (and sometimes beyond) speaks the same language, even though it makes absolutely no logical sense for them to have any knowledge of each other's languages.

Of course, if you try to avoid this, then you run into the problem of characters not being able to communicate.

The first option is obviously illogical and to me, stupid, but at the same time it makes practical sense. And looking at the fantasy genre, it seems everyone just goes with that and ignores the non-sensicalness of it.

But is there anyway to work around this? Has anyone come up with a way to avoid this irritating trope?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-02-19T16:50:01Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 24