Linguistic speculations from my past
As a former linguistics student, language use and language variations fascinate me. I remember arguing passionately with my best friend’s boyfriend in grad school about whether or not it was appropriate to teach Black English Vernacular (BEV) to second language learners who would be living and working in an area where the predominant variation of English was BEV.
His argument was that second language learners should always be taught standard academic English and afterwards they can try to learn non-standard variants. My argument was that teaching someone standard English that makes them communicate inappropriately in their target language community (“Delighted to meet you” in da hood) won’t help them fit in or communicate well if they are immersed in an environment that uses a “non-standard” English variation.
My position these days would be less the zealous linguistics student and more the moderate, experienced teacher. No more frothing at the mouth for teaching BEV.
My position these days would be less the zealous linguistics student and more the moderate, experienced teacher. No more frothing at the mouth for teaching BEV.
Linguistic speculations today
Instead, my latest passion is for online variations of English. There are all sorts of new and flexible ways to use spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, grammar, vocabulary, morphemes…. It’s a great new language playground out there!!
I think online English brings out the rebel in me: I love seeing how everyone is breaking all the rules and getting away with it. w00t! e e cummings, it's ur new day! Rejoice in texting acronyms! (LOL—once I mashed the keyboard with my fist and sent the letter blob to a colleague who uses lots of texting acronyms—took him half an hour of searching to realize I’d just sent him random letters.) Gotta love tweets (RT@someoneyouknow), throw in the pronouns “i” and “u,” add a few “z” to wordz, publish “thru” defiantly in ur blog, and isn’t it gr8 2 use #s, 2? Even the emoticons bring me glee.
Purist writer colleagues shudder. They point to the degradation of the language and bemoan the fate of the English language: everyone is writing like first graders or worse and getting away with it! It is all so sick and wrong.
My theory on the future of the English language
Here’s what I say to calm them down. I tell them that I think we could potentially end up with two written variations of English:
- High English (formal, academic English with set rules and guidelines for professional and international text)
- Low English (informal, “improper” but commonly accepted English with evolving and flexible rules for everyday communication)
The fact that my purist friends know the High English well would benefit them. They’d be in demand as fewer and fewer people would be able to write in High English, but it would be necessary for professional, international documents.
The Low English would not be accepted internationally nor yet standardized due the constant changes in its use. It would only be used for casual, online communication where you don’t have to worry about conventions or rules—you just need to get your message across.
What do you think?
I’m open to other theories along these lines. What do you think is going to happen to written English? Will we ever see teachers accepting essays about “wat i did 4 summr vctn”?
Language and culture are intrinsically intertwined so the future of the former depends on where the later is heading. As with cultures, history has shown us that some languages and will inevitably dwindle and perhaps disappear over time while new ones will emerge as offshoots of established languages. At some point, child languages become different enough from their roots to be considered a distinct language in their own right. The questions to ponder are whether this is necessarily a bad thing and whether we should prevent the emergence of child languages under the guise of standardization.
ReplyDeleteA language without an army is just a dialect though.
Language purists may decry deviant usage but it is natural for language to evolve to suit the needs of its users. Even the dumbing down of a language, as perceived by the learned, has its role in society. A language which is static over time may make studying old texts easier but what does that say about the culture of its followers?
English is especially a dynamic language given its roots, wide number of speakers around the world, and perhaps lack of central authority to define a uniform standard. It arrived at linguistic dominance mainly because of the economic and political influence associated with its speakers. In recent times, it is the de facto language of the Internet and secondary language of the world. This means even more rapid change and influences from all over. Given the number of non-native speakers, it has become common to encounter poor English and not think twice. It seems greater importance is attributed to being understood as opposed to enforcing linguistic correctness.
I think change will continue to be in store for the English language.
Evolution in language will continue forever. In today’s world it is simply happening faster than ever and is not bound by the geographical limitations of the past. All the weird distortions in internet and text message writing have merely produced other dialects of English, developed through a medium rather than a region. They are nothing to fear.
ReplyDeleteProper English will live on because we are intelligent enough to know what form of the language to use when. A business executive who creates professionally written reports, corporate presentations and proposals, will be the same person texting her son: "Do u want me to pick u up 4 hockey practice 2nite?"
If we want to survive in the realm of fast-food, drive-thru communication, we need to learn the lingo. Those who refuse to get onboard will be left in the dust with the folks who still stubbornly believe social media has no value in marketing and communications strategies.
Most of us seem to be having fun with new media language. At the same time, there is nothing more satisfying than savouring the delicious passages of an eloquently written book. That will never grow old.