What will the English language become in the next twenty years?

Question

I have noticed the way people write on Yahoo answers and other websites and it seems that the English langauge is changing. I asked a similar question but it seemed offensive to most so now I am just trying to be objective.
Will we lose words like with and will they become spelled as wid.
Will typing out complete sentences no longer be used in books, documents and other literary forms?
What will this do to our culture? Are we evolving or becoming illiterate?
Also, are schools no longer teaching English Comp?

Answer 1

I'd say that most of the apparent changes in English are due to new forms of communication. Telephone conversations have different rules than letters, for example.

Texting or IMing are not the death knell of the language, but rather an adaptation of English for a new communication medium. The quick turnaround time of communication means that there's less of an emphasis on 'correctness'; texting is very close to a conversation.

Think of texting or IMing as a conversation, and a formal letter as a speech. Both the IM and the conversation are casual and less concerned with technical correctness than they are with communication, immediateness, and intimacy.

Spelling is already fossilized. We still spell the 'gh' in 'knight' that hasn't been pronounced in centuries. An infintesimal minority of words have changed their spellings in the last hundred years, and it is unlikely that that rate will pick up significantly.

Language is evolving. It always has been. Compare Beowulf to the Canterbury Tales, Canterbury Tales to Hamlet, Hamlet to The Sun Also Rises.

We are becoming, worldwide, increasingly literate. These days, I think our standards are growing faster than literacy.

The high school I went to still requires four years of English and one of Speech, Forensics, or Debate. Local community colleges require two semesters of English Composition.

Answer 2

As people are getting lazier and using text message abbreviations, I imagine that the English language will become more phonetically written. eg. I will c u. / 8 t @ 7
What will this do to our culture? It will divide society into old school and new school which to a degree has been already occurring. Those of us who were taught grammar and spelling and had to read literature not manga comics will continue to enjoy reading etc. and as we die off, the newer trends will take over.

Answer 3

i'm 17, English & I communicate very reliable German (i does no longer say fluent, yet i will write, communicate & translate prevalent German). I took an activity in German while i replaced into 10, & on holiday in Spain, the place we grew to become acquaintances with German childrens in our motel I took my first A-point of German in would, & found it awkward. a pair of weeks in the past, i offered some books, & after interpreting up maximum nights, each and every thing merely slotted in place, & looked too uncomplicated to be genuine. no count if it replaced into the upward push in adulthood or something, i don't understand, yet I desire I had this epiphany earlier my examination ! i offered a tutor-your self French e book no longer earlier, & i merely can not become familiar with even the person-friendly French, which includes ''this would be a pen'' etc. In French, i will in basic terms revise the words, & then I overlook them. while in German, i will make words, exchange the demanding, upload ingredient... i discover even studying person-friendly French is greater puzzling than intermediate German. yet i will save having a flow !

Answer 4

There are many new words evolving in the English language every year. At this rate we are going, everyone will pretty much be speaking their own unique brand of English, with new words of their own.

Answer 5

I don't think things will change that much except in computer talk. I hope that people will still be able to form literate sentences and talk like they still have brains in their heads.

Answer 6

Arabic is what it shall be replaced with along with the culture of the world. you see the power has shifted along with doing away with the English language.
Arabic and Urdu has become the primary first language! Believe that! I thought you knew!

Answer 7

The English language you speak of is becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs. Learn spanish and you'll get along just fine.

Answer 8

It will probably be a lot like Jive(an old word for what they now call Ebonics).

Answer 9

y0u d0n7 3v3n kn0w

Answer 10

dam straight