Are we losing the English language?

Question

With even news readers 'dumbing down' and using words like 'lads' and 'booze' where do we find any examples of proper spoken English? We're flooded with American TV and film. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm saying things correctly anymore. Does anyone else care?

Okay, okay, no-one wants you all to start 'theeing' and 'thouing'! I know that language evolves but employers don't take 'it's language evolution innit, man?' as an excuse for not being able to converse in a business environment. My concern is that the 'txt' generation don't know any different and they can't spell for toffee! Without examples of how to speak 'nicely' how will they be able to adapt to different situations? You don't talk in the same way to your boss as you do down the pub, do you?

Answer 1

I agree. Try reading some decent books.

Answer 2

As all languages, English evolves and changes. Can't stop change. Don't you think Chaucer felt bad when he saw Middle English go? How about Shakespeare. Both these guys would have been appalled to hear the English spoken just 30 years after their time, I'll bet. But that didn't stop the language from changing into what it is now. New vocabulary is natural, you can't stop it.

What we CAN do is pay attention to our grammar and spelling and hope for the best. But a language cannot remain the same forever, or else it is dead. Have you noticed how little Latin has changed in the past decades? That's because nobody speaks it anymore.

Answer 3

Language changes. We're not necessarily losing the English language, but what we say now isn't really the same as what we used to say. If you want an example of "proper" English, then technically, you should read some literature from the Middle Ages or something when the English language was relatively new and nothing had changed about it yet. I wouldn't worry too much about it, though. The form of English you and I speak doesn't seem like it will be forgotten for a long, long time.

Answer 4

Yes, I've never bought a tabloid and never will. That's why I get concerned about it.
Some of the English language is abuse toward the users. Some anomalies are genuine but some is abuse. These things don't help, and we have so much time at school for getting it right - I had 4 70min lessons of English per week. I think this is over the top because people follow daft dialects and slang, partly through anti-authoritarianism. we use our language with almost everything we do so we should be better at it than we are.
People say Brussels is taking over - that might be a good idea. Hollywood rules our kids' minds.

Answer 5

Again, let me say, language evolves. English is itsaelf a composite language adapting and absorbing terms and words from all over. Therefore, it is no problem for even spelling to change, as spelling is simply a convention anyway.

That said, I think you are more referring to social intelligence, or the ability to change linguistic tenor (or register, as it is usually called) according to the situation. The reason this skill may be lost is usually due to lack of education. It is generally assumed that people from different social groupings can understand each other and approve of their respective linguistic differences without any grounding in real life.

What needs to be done is for social intelligence to be taught in school. Language use begins with good education. The loss of such skills as performing well in job interviews, writing a letter to a bank manager or politician or constructing a persuasive argument is far more damaging than the loss of a few vowels due to txt language.

In short, while linguistic evolution is normal, we do need to fight for a greater measure of social intelligence, especially in these politically correct days where we don't like to talk about communication breakdown and the differences that are inherent in society.

Answer 6

The English language evolves. That is one of its greatest strengths. It freely absorbs words from foreign languages and creates and adopts new ones to reflect changing realities. A challenge: find a book written over a century ago, read it, and see if the style of writing, even spelling, does not seem awkward and inconvenient. Chaucer is virtually unintelligible to a lot of readers because the language has moved so far beyond where it was in his time. It will continue to evolve and grow and change.

It is technically wrong to end a sentence with a preposition, but why? Yet it is awkward in speech not TO, and even proper written English often has ordinary sentences ending in prepositions because to not do so is so awkward. As Winston Churchill said when criticized for ending a sentence with a preposition, "This is nonsense up with which I will not put!"

Answer 7

I suppose it depends on your starting point.
If you're talking about the language of Shakespeare, then I'm afraid you're right. Nobody uses that kind of English nowadays. Even the English of Dickens would be lost on some people.

English, unlike many languages, does not have a regulatory body or a Royal Academy for the preservation and upkeep of the language. Some would argue that expression is the most important along with the ease with which people can understand what is being communicated.

However, I feel that many people cannot be bothered to improve their range of vocabulary in order to give a deeper meaning to their utterances. Is this the fault of the lackadaisical policy successive governments have permitted in general education, which permits freedom of expression over spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax? Or is it teachers themselves who no longer know English grammar rules, spelling rules or basic English in use?

English is a beautiful language and it should be cared for and cherished. What is happening nowadays is a gross abuse of a language for the want of effort on behalf of those who claim it be their mother tongue.

Answer 8

English isn't dying. It's getting stronger. When you worry that slang and Americanism are destroying the language you're failing to see what's really going on.
English is evolving, just like it always has. It's always been about borrowing words, extending and contracting existing words, coining new ones and finding new ways to use them. The teenagers who talk in SMS-speak, delighting in the thought that they're somehow defacing the language are doing no such thing - they're simply playing along with the evolution of English.
500 years ago an Englishman wouldn't have understood one word in ten of modern English. 500 years from now English will be equally unrecognisable to us.

Answer 9

Heavens no! Language always changes. If it didn't, we'd still be talking like they did in Shakespeare's times (or earlier) and we wouldn't have words like "computer", "car", or "refrigerator".

People decide what's "proper" or not based on factors other than language. All dialects of English are capable of communication; if they weren't, people wouldn't use them. The grammar rules that tell us what to do or not do were mostly invented in the 1700s by some people who wanted English to be more like Latin. However, English is part of the Germanic language family, so most of their suggestions just didn't take. In the meantime, normal, everyday speakers of English continued doing what they were doing: using English for their communication needs and adapting it to fit those needs when necessary.

And the process continues today. So, when it comes to grammar rules, "don't fear the reaper!"

Answer 10

Why are 'lads' and 'booze' examples of improper spoken English?
People do care. See the sales of Lynne Truss's book 'eats, shoots and leaves' and more importantly the content of that book, for a similar viewpoint.
As regards to American TV and film 'flooding' our country, that's just rubbish. If you have Sky or cable you can watch hundreds of British TV channels. Why not listen to more Radio 4?

Answer 11

I care!!

I agree that the English language is being lost in society. American terminology has been changed from the original English to suit phonetics better. I prefer to stick with UK English as it has intrinsic value, ie the origins and history behind many words makes the language beautiful.

Having said that, the English language has evolved over many years, too, according to historical changes and usage. BUT I do not like the idea of it evolving because of a trend and we end up stuck with silly terms for every day use, such as Doh!! or Cowabunga!! Thankfully, those sort of terms die their natural death and will long be remembered as they are, an effective language for a popular programme but not for every day usage.