>>Five hundred languages, each spoken only by one
>>sub-section of the ppulation, simply gives you the equivalent of 500
>>midwestern villages all gathered on the same ground.
>
>No it doesn't. People living next to each other have to interact and
>create fresh cultures.
Right. There's a million things that go into that interaction besides spoken language. In practically every restaurant or grocery store I go into the people bussing tables or bagging groceries are from Mexico or Central America, whether the owners hail from Korea, Vietnam, or Brazil. They all communicate to get things done and over time they might learn something of the other's language, but not necessarily. That goes for learning English too. Lots of people, and the numbers are growing, live in the U.S. for decades without learning English.