Guest Writer
From technology to Twitter, is it aitch or 'haitch'…what is the answer?
Everyday, something in the world of language and linguistics develops or changes, making us really question ‘why won’t English just stop changing?’ Let me ask you, has your talk ever been influenced after watching an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S or ‘The Big Bang Theory’, could the English language BE anymore like American!
English has always been studied for its evolution, just like many other languages, however it has become a lot more prevalent that ‘Americanisms’ are more prominent than ever! According to Professor Michael McCarthy, due to technology, globalisation and mobility, “emails, texts, blogs, tweets etc have blurred the distinction between formal, written grammar and informal spoken grammar…where only the most necessary words are included.” Do you find yourself saying ‘lol’ outside of the tech world? Compellingly, his study allows us linguists and everyday readers, like yourself, to understand the ongoing movement of not only our spoken language, but also written. These short and snappy phrases like “lmao” and “wyd”, phrases possibly first seen across social media are now used across the majority of age groups and even in everyday talk. This growth of speech can be confusing or misleading for those in an older generation as they are likely never to have heard these abbreviations before. This can cause disagreement amongst age groups or even linguists studying this that disagree with the rate of language change (prescriptivists).
However, throughout the UK, there are many who believe in the preservation of the English Language and its traditional standards, once again the world of prescriptivists. Similarly, there are groups in France and elsewhere in Europe, which believe that this ongoing transformation of our language is wrong and needs to be reversed. The Académie is France’s official authority surrounding speech, grammar and language - the utter control that France has over this, is extremely strong in the way that they want to protect and shield their language from other country’s influences. In spite of this, they do not only hope to retain standard English that is written, but grammatically and phonologically (sounds). Personally, I would say that this outlook is completely outdated. How ridiculous is it, making sure people never confuse ‘less’ with ‘fewer’, or ‘who’ from ‘whom’ - I mean come on, who even uses whom anymore? As stated by Steven Pinker, writer for The Guardian, “many prescriptivist rules originated for screwball reasons” and I 100% agree! ‘Grammarians’ (also prescriptivists) Murray and Lowth, attempted to fight for the rules of Latin. They believed that the English language should be transformed back into the ‘great’ way it once was. CRAZY! If English truly won’t stop changing, then why should these people force delay on this?
Now, to continue my discussion of ‘phonology’, the sounds and pronunciation of the words we speak. In a recent study by David Stillito, alongside The British Library, answering the question how do we pronounce ‘H’? The pronunciation of common words have changed drastically over time and the reasons for this are extremely interesting! Traditionally, the link between class voice and status was something noticeable and had a large impact on an individual's accent and dialect. A significant and ongoing study surrounding accent and dialect is linguist Paul Kerswill study of ‘dialect levelling’ - it has been proven that due to the growth or migration and globalisation, there is now a modernisation of accents and dialects across countries or regions in the way that new twangs or voices are formed due to this mixing. However, now, it is rewarding to see that there is a decline in speech and class anxiety. Notably, ‘H-dropping’, is something common in certain working class areas like Yorkshire and Hull. In addition to this, the way people pronounce words now is merely a type of fashion, you may agree.
Overall, it is an amazing thing that English can be so influential to others and at the same time be influenced by different countries, different ages, different genders and even more significantly by each individual. The reasons for language change are endless, whether it be the American influence or the difference in talk between grandparents and their grandchildren, the movement of person from place to place, it can go on forever! But, to conclude this, in my view it has no relevance whatsoever if you choose to say sCHedule or SHcedule, it is simply fascinating and I’d hope you agree.
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