So me and my family have this theory
r/FanTheories
A Reddit family's joke about why all sci-fi aliens speak English accidentally stumbled into one of linguistics' most serious frameworks: how imperial dominance fossilises a language long after the empire collapses.
Linguistic ImperialismWorld-Systems TheoryCultural Hegemony
Theory Briefing
- A father-son-brother theory argues a vanished 2nd British Empire once ruled the multiverse, explaining universal English across sci-fi fandoms.
- The family ruled out chance and trade language because hostile alien civilisations wouldn't converge voluntarily — pointing to coercive colonial spread instead.
- The joke mirrors real-world linguistic imperialism theory, where English persists globally today not by choice but as a colonial fossil.