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English has always been a language of change and there's no reason why that will stop. Today, if you want to know what the word 'lexicographer' means, you will probably just Google it. But before the answer to any question was at your fingertips on the Internet, you would have reached for a dictionary.
Samuel Johnson published Johnson’s: A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 after 9 years of work. It was “colossal”, at nearly 18 inches tall! Johnson’s was the premier English dictionary until the publication of the Oxford English Dictionary 150 years later. |
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Latin was once the most important language in Europe. It was the language of Kings and Queens, governments, Christianity, science and any official business. After the fall of the Roman Empire local languages became more popular and spoken Latin became the Romance languages, including, French, Spanish and Italian.
English isn't going to die out any time soon, but it is always changing and changing in different ways depending exactly where in the world you are. |
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English will fragment into 'global dialects'
Traditional English is set to fragment into a multitude of dialects as it spreads around the world, a language expert claims. Professor David Crystal, one of the world's foremost experts on English, said people will effectively have to learn two varieties of the language - one spoken in their home country, and a new kind of Standard English which can be internationally understood. The English spoken in countries with booming economies, such as India and China, will increasingly influence this global standard, he said. |
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This could spell the end of the dominance of American English as the prevailing language of international affairs. Prof Crystal said: "In language, numbers count. There are more people speaking English in India than in all the rest of the native English-speaking world.
"Even now, if you ring a call centre, often it's an Indian voice you hear at the end of the phone. As the Indian economy grows, so might the influence of Indian English.
He predicts English will become a family of languages, just as Latin did a thousand years ago. "There are older varieties of English such as American, South African, Australian, and emerging varieties like Nigerian, Ghanaian and Singaporean."
However, some of the new dialects are so different that speakers of British English won't understand them, he said. "In Singapore for example, 'Singlish' is used on the streets but it involves so much Chinese that you and I wouldn't understand it."
"These new dialects are expressing local attitudes, which people feel very strongly about, and using the language to show who they are and reinforce their identity.
"But at the same time it is very important that English can be understood internationally. That is fostering the development of what once upon a time we would have called Standard English - which is used in newspapers, textbooks, on TV and the like."
"Even now, if you ring a call centre, often it's an Indian voice you hear at the end of the phone. As the Indian economy grows, so might the influence of Indian English.
He predicts English will become a family of languages, just as Latin did a thousand years ago. "There are older varieties of English such as American, South African, Australian, and emerging varieties like Nigerian, Ghanaian and Singaporean."
However, some of the new dialects are so different that speakers of British English won't understand them, he said. "In Singapore for example, 'Singlish' is used on the streets but it involves so much Chinese that you and I wouldn't understand it."
"These new dialects are expressing local attitudes, which people feel very strongly about, and using the language to show who they are and reinforce their identity.
"But at the same time it is very important that English can be understood internationally. That is fostering the development of what once upon a time we would have called Standard English - which is used in newspapers, textbooks, on TV and the like."
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