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Factors for the evolution of contemporary English
Standardization of English language today
Factors for the evolution of contemporary English
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Recommended: Factors for the evolution of contemporary English
English spoken today has been deformed by the sense of quickness used to convey messages on devices such as phones or computers. But it's a necessity when trying to talk about something newer or modern. Betty Birner states in her article Is English Changing? "This isn't a bad thing; if English hadn't changed since, say, 1950, we wouldn't have words to refer to modems, fax machines, or cable TV. As long as the needs of language users continue to change, so will the language." It's not always a bad thing for language to change, however it is changing in two ways; One is the good type of change, the other is a far less intuitive way of speaking and communicating. The old way of speaking was much different,and in most cases sounds more gentlemen or lady-like than our modern way of talking. Instead of saying "How are you?" it once was "How do you do?". Our language has become so standardized in a sense of we say only what we need to say and forget the core parts of our sentences that deem us respectful. …show more content…
When an item, a red carpet for example, is placed in front of someone. The new way of saying it may be as simple as saying "It's a red carpet, with gold lining". While it's not a wrong statement, it's words have been shifted and slightly altered to fit the new age. The old(er) way of identifying the carpet may have been "This red carpet with a golden
The constant changing of technology and social norms makes difficult for different generations to understand one another and fully relate to each other. Diction and slang change as years pass and what is socially acceptable may have been prohibited in the previous generations.
In this modern era, technology is dramatically developing and evolving at an astounding rate. The advancement in technology affects almost every aspect of today’s society. The English language is a prime example of this. Linguists from different universities have begun noticing changes in the modern English language; most of the alterations tend to be significant. The English language has been negatively affected by the rise of the Internet, smartphones and social media.
For hundreds of years, English has been continuously changing.Words that were unacceptable 300 years ago are now commonplace. Englishhas always had a trademark of being a comfortable language, the language ofthe common people (MacNeil 143). Change in the grammar and diction of alanguage is natural, and English is always confronted with changes. Amongthem are the use of slang, clipped word endings, and new dialects. SomeConservatives do not like changes because they claim that standard Englishis a perfect language; they do not want to corrupt it. Others simply donot like change. Neither group of Conservatives has any new arguments,and nothing to fear from change. Slang worries Conservatives the most because it affects thevocabulary of English. American English, especially, is always adding newwords to its vocabulary for social, scientific, or artistic reasons. Thescientific and artistic words do not bother these people; only the social,or slang, words do. Slang is usually created by children or teens who seeksocial status (Morrow 137). Because kids are the source of new slang, someadults look down on it with the assumption that kids are unintelligent andsimply rebelling against established English grammar and diction. However,most of the adults did the same thing when they were children. Adults havebeen frowning on slang for generations (Crystal 104). Conservatives also look down upon slang because slang is not usedby people of high status. If they hear someone speaking in Jive, they willbe angry because Jive is not the way that high class people speak. Peoplewho do not like slang are usually prejudiced as well. They do not want tohear other ways of talking because it...
Maybe part of my opinion is based on spite: If I had to learn all the dos and don’ts of modern English, so should you. But I think it’s more then just that. I can see the writing on the wall and it’s not looking too bright. Dumbing down the language to simplest terms can be a very dangerous thing. Don’t believe me, flip through a copy of Orwell’s 1984 and you’ll see how Big Brother has developed a “plainspeak” directive. In fact, I’m not alone in this belief. In Sven Birket’s article “Into the Electronic Millennium” he discusses the devolution of modern language: “The complexity and distinctiveness of spoken and written expression, which are deeply bound to traditions of print literacy, will gradually be replaced by a more telegraphic sort of ‘plainspeak’” (70).
In an article for Time Ideas, John McWhorter briefly sums up digital communications by stating that ‘texting properly isn’t writing at all — it’s actually more akin to spoken language. And it’s a spoken language that is getting richer and more complex by the year’
alternatives ":(, =P , =D , =I , :o)". By looking at them from a side
Amelioration, on the other hand, is when a word’s meaning elevates, and represents a positive quality or something more favorable. The meaning of nice when it first appeared in Middle English was (of persons or their actions) foolish, silly, ignorant, senseless, absurd. The meaning gradually elevated to meanings such as kind, friendly, considerate.
How Millennials are Changing the English Language Samuel Tristan Baladad I. Introduction: The English language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is a dominant language. As the time flows, new words are being added to the English dictionary. There are various reasons for the English language to evolve, and one of the reasons that impacts the most is the effect of new technologies being developed over time. In the current generation what demographers refer to as Generation Y also known as millennials, the generation of people born between the early 1980s to 2000s, are causing a gradual change to the English language.
Semantic Change leads with change on meaning of words, however this change does not occur overnight or all of a sudden. On the contrary, this is a slow process into language evolution and these differences are only realised as time goes by. There are many reasons to transformation and change over a word meaning. They can be adopted thanks to insertion of vocabulary from another language, by borrowing or even through popular usage of a word inside another context, resulting its differentiation to the whole country where English is spoken.
My written task is based on part one of the English course (Language in cultural context). I have chosen to do an article based on the future of English as a global language. I chose to do this because English today is gaining popularity worldwide, in certain cases influencing the syntax of other languages.
Globalization is an inevitable issue in the world, which brings boundaries between the countries much more close. Because of the sophisticated technology, the mobility of local culture, music, knowledge and goods has enhanced. As we want to communicate with the other races of people, we shall use one language to be a bridge. Therefore, the English becomes a globalizing language because of its clear structure and format. Does the globalizing language good or bad for us? I believe that the answer should not be one-sided. The truth is, English as a globalizing language can bring us good for Economics and local culture. However, it also triggers some negative issues.
lead to an unexpected and often very odd result. For example, the English phrase no
As a result, technology has widely influenced language through its various trends as it has uncovered numerous changes in language. Advances in technology have created an explosion in the ways we communicate leading to changes in spoken language, written communication and how words have different meanings today. As many have adapted to the technological trends this generation holds, it is merely debatable that the formal English language is doomed, this is credited to new technological trends.
English has established itself as a world language. Like no other language English dominates different aspect of our lives. These aspects are culture, politics, finances and many others domains related to public and international life. I will have a look at some scenarios such as English losing the status of a world language or English becoming a so called dead language. I will consider English not only as a world language, but also as a language of culture. In fact, I will have a closer look at English as a vehicle of culture and international relations and how these two provide scenarios for the language itself. Another scenario treated in this essay will be the scenario of English replacing all the other languages. In the end I will see if the English language has a future or if like so many other things its future is not predictable, because our world is in a constant change.
Over the years English inarguably has reached a status of a global language and commonly is characterized as a lingua franca. It has become the language that is spoken by millions of people all over the world; as the mother tongue, as the language used for international communication and as the language learned in the millions of schools.