Image Source: dma.org.uk/digital-devices-chang-english-language
ENGLISH IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Language, spoken and written, it is one of the primary ways in which humans communicate with one another. Although there are other means, for the last few centuries it has been the most frequently used by most people.
Nearly everyone – except maybe teen agers -- realizes that language constantly changes over the years and over physical distance. It is a work in progress, not an end state. That’s old news. The differences in this century are the rater of change -- and the rate curve is on he upswing -- and the advent of the internet and the cell / smartphone.
Language, spoken and written, it is one of the primary ways in which humans communicate with one another. Although there are other means, for the last few centuries it has been the most frequently used by most people.
Nearly everyone – except maybe teen agers -- realizes that language constantly changes over the years and over physical distance. It is a work in progress, not an end state. That’s old news. The differences in this century are the rater of change -- and the rate curve is on he upswing -- and the advent of the internet and the cell / smartphone.
Image Source: www.peterfisk.com
Researchers are finding that the two most common communications devices, the internet and smartphone, have brought about what is arguably a new variety of English that differs from the standard varieties. Some researchers fear this new form of English is a threat to the standard varieties while others argue that it is simply a new branch of linguistics, sometimes called Internet Linguistics.
The internet has allowed us to become connected in a way that was not possible in the past. This level of immediate connection has helped new phrases, words and ways to communicate become commonplace much faster than humans have been accustomed to.
CŌM ON WANRE NIHT / SCRĪÐAN SCEADU-GENGA
Like it or not, the English language has continually changed and will continue to evolve. That is a fact, not a threat. The difficult part is keeping up with the modifications. Or maybe we don’t need to.
“Cōm on wanre niht / scrīðan sceadu-genga” is, in fact, English. Old English, to be precise. However, if you can read and understand it, I’m impressed. These are the opening words from the English poem Beowulf, first committed to writing between 975 and 1015 AD. The translation, by R. M. Liuzzar, to modern English is “In the dark night he came / creeping, the shadow-goer”.
After the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD, Old English -- only a spoken language at the time -- was replaced, for a time, by Anglo-Norman which developed into what is now known as Middle English, which did developed a written form.
Most average, English-speaking people alive today do not miss Old and Middle English, nor yearn for their return. Keep this in mind for the later discussion.
THE NATURE OF THE CHANGES
Putting aside for the moment the question of whether or not everyone needs to keep up on the spiraling (spelled spiralling if you are British) growth of the language, let’s look at what modifications have taken place since 1990.
VOCABULARY: A New Word Every 98 Minutes
Vocabulary is the most obvious change to English, because people deal with both the written and spoken word constantly. The estimated number of words in English is somewhat speculative, but most experts agree there are at least a million plus, somewhere between 1,005,000 and 1,022,000.
OMG! How many of these words do you know and use? In a 2011 interview with the BBC, lexicographer Susie Dent estimated that while an English speaker may know around 40,000 words, they actively use only about 20,000 (about 2% of a million). While that percentage may have increased since 2011, it is still a very small portion of the language. Ouch!
The Global Language Monitor (GLM) estimates that in the modern world a new word is created every 98 minutes, and that 800 to 1,000 new words are added to English language dictionaries each year. In the 20th century, the estimated increase in dictionary words is more than 90,000 words. atkinsbookshelf.wordpress.com/words-enter-the-english-language
By the way, a word does not need to be in the dictionary to be a “real” word.
The third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), scheduled for completion in 2037, estimates the rate of inclusion of new words will be nearly 4,000 per year. That dictionary
added more than 2,500 words in 2014. Imagine in 2024.
This dramatic increase in new words is due to:
● Technology and new products
● Spontaneous coining of new words in email, text transmissions, and in social, news and
entertainment media which can reach missions of people in seconds.
● Blended words (eg: bromance, staycation.)
● Foreign words
The internet has allowed us to become connected in a way that was not possible in the past. This level of immediate connection has helped new phrases, words and ways to communicate become commonplace much faster than humans have been accustomed to.
CŌM ON WANRE NIHT / SCRĪÐAN SCEADU-GENGA
Like it or not, the English language has continually changed and will continue to evolve. That is a fact, not a threat. The difficult part is keeping up with the modifications. Or maybe we don’t need to.
“Cōm on wanre niht / scrīðan sceadu-genga” is, in fact, English. Old English, to be precise. However, if you can read and understand it, I’m impressed. These are the opening words from the English poem Beowulf, first committed to writing between 975 and 1015 AD. The translation, by R. M. Liuzzar, to modern English is “In the dark night he came / creeping, the shadow-goer”.
After the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD, Old English -- only a spoken language at the time -- was replaced, for a time, by Anglo-Norman which developed into what is now known as Middle English, which did developed a written form.
Most average, English-speaking people alive today do not miss Old and Middle English, nor yearn for their return. Keep this in mind for the later discussion.
THE NATURE OF THE CHANGES
Putting aside for the moment the question of whether or not everyone needs to keep up on the spiraling (spelled spiralling if you are British) growth of the language, let’s look at what modifications have taken place since 1990.
VOCABULARY: A New Word Every 98 Minutes
Vocabulary is the most obvious change to English, because people deal with both the written and spoken word constantly. The estimated number of words in English is somewhat speculative, but most experts agree there are at least a million plus, somewhere between 1,005,000 and 1,022,000.
OMG! How many of these words do you know and use? In a 2011 interview with the BBC, lexicographer Susie Dent estimated that while an English speaker may know around 40,000 words, they actively use only about 20,000 (about 2% of a million). While that percentage may have increased since 2011, it is still a very small portion of the language. Ouch!
The Global Language Monitor (GLM) estimates that in the modern world a new word is created every 98 minutes, and that 800 to 1,000 new words are added to English language dictionaries each year. In the 20th century, the estimated increase in dictionary words is more than 90,000 words. atkinsbookshelf.wordpress.com/words-enter-the-english-language
By the way, a word does not need to be in the dictionary to be a “real” word.
The third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), scheduled for completion in 2037, estimates the rate of inclusion of new words will be nearly 4,000 per year. That dictionary
added more than 2,500 words in 2014. Imagine in 2024.
This dramatic increase in new words is due to:
● Technology and new products
● Spontaneous coining of new words in email, text transmissions, and in social, news and
entertainment media which can reach missions of people in seconds.
● Blended words (eg: bromance, staycation.)
● Foreign words
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