English is similar to all the living languages in the world, which is constantly changing amidst the changes taking place within the global environment. It is a dynamic language, and there has to be a standard set to distinguish a uniform code of language that can be understood in many areas around the world. For this, Standard English was set up “to ensure accuracy and clarity in communication” (Roy 39). It is therefore, important to ask how important is Standard English when it comes to businesses in Miami, Florida and other cities that are multicultural? In a huge community such as Miami, there are always difficulties in the use of Standard English, which brings up the question on how important is Standard English in the management of business, as compared to other versions of English.
According to the words of Jeanette Gilsdorf, “English is alive, healthy, and morphing in many ways, and what we call Standard English is a moving target” (365). These changes, however, carries some discomfort, especially in business when there are differences in the employees’ use of English. There are instances when those who speak English as their first language take somewhat a purist’s attitude whenever they hear the other versions of English spoken by other foreign employees. At these times, it cannot be prevented that others are not pleased whenever they notice that the English spoken by younger employees tend to be different from their own. With this variation taking place in the English language, other international business of the new millennium created policies that made Standard English their business company’s official language. However, other employees that are foreign-born may have difficulty applying Standard English, since they were more capable of using their own versions of English, with their own registers and dialects, such as the U.S. English. This may create some difficulties in communicating, not just with other employees in the company, but also with other foreign, international companies stated around Miami, Florida.
There are many issues in the world of business that proves how significant it is for a community to have a Standard English used in communicating between different cultures across the society. In India, for example, there is a General Indian English that business employees should learn first before mastering other forms of the Indian English of specific regions. As Sumita Roy mentioned regarding non-standard English in India,
Within the country if the problem is so acute, imagine how severe it will be when the same people go abroad and need to use English. What is needed, therefore, is that the user of English [should be] in conformity with the existing standard around the user. (Roy 39)
The audience that I am trying to convince are the business companies situated around Miami, Florida, such as those consisting partially of foreign employees from other countries, or companies who consistently communicate with international companies worldwide. I am trying to reach specifically those in higher authorities within the business companies, or those who have the power to create policies regarding the use of Standard English. By taking this into consideration, there will better communication between business employees, as well as, between business companies situated around Miami, Florida and around the globe.
In this approach, it would be best to apply the three rhetorical appeals in connecting with the audience. First is the use of logos by bringing up factual data on what a business company may lose if there is failure to communicate effectively between the employees. Second is the use of ethos by making use of credible sources in convincing my audience, such as those that come from research studies and documentaries from dependable journal articles. Third is the use of pathos by using real-life instances that prove to my audience how important it is for a business company in Miami to have a policy of having a Standard English. By using these three rhetorical appeals, it is most probable that the audience will agree to create policies bound to creating a Standard English for better communication.
For the research methods, I planned in using written documents that come from reliable sources like peer-reviewed journal articles and books, or those that come from documentaries and newspaper articles. I have conducted research, primarily on the book entitled Mastering the Art of Business Communication by Sumita Roy, which is useful in describing the importance of having a standard language in the business industry. I also conducted research on the book, entitled Standard English in the United States and England by Aleksandr Davidovich Shveitser, which clearly explains the Standard English being used in the United States as well as in England. I have also researched on an article that Tsedal Neeley wrote in 2012, entitled Global Business Speaks English, which is found in Harvard Business Review. Another is the journal article that Jeanette Gilsdorf wrote, entitled Standard Englishes and World Englishes: Living with a Polymorph Business Language. All these, as well as the others, are all useful in gathering reliable information on the topic.
Part V: Counterarguments
Other people may oppose the tentative solution being mentioned above, or they may have a different stance on the problem, mainly because English, as others say, should be a “genuinely global language” (Gilsdorf 365). In the Web, for example, about 75 percent of the pages are written in English (Gilsdorf 365), and even machines are translated in English, reflecting the use of a standard language in communicating between people in the business. However, over the past years, the number of non-English speakers in the Web is rising as well, and this would have created a society where people use the non-standard English language, which is the version they use in their regions. If business companies would create policies on the use of a Standard English within Miami, it will bring better communication inside the company, but will fail in communicating effectively with other foreign companies. It can lead to a downfall in the economy and lead to financial constraints, all because the employees failed in communicating effectively between their employees. With this, more research is needed to address these opposing views on the use of Standard English.
Part VI: Conclusion
It is important to analyze what exactly will be the effect of businesses having a Standard English within their companies, in opposition to its failure to conduct policies that would insist the use of standard language for better business communication. Following a Standard English is beneficial for business employees to understand one another, for them to follow a basic standard in their use of language. However, the business globe is continuing to expand, while foreign employees are increasing all the more within the business industry in Miami, Florida. A research is needed to prove how important it is to follow a standard language within a community, or whether language should be allowed to change freely.
Works Cited:
Gilsdorf, Jeanette. “Standard Englishes and World Englishes: Living with a Polymorph Business Language.” The Journal of Business Communication 39.3 (2002): 364-378.Print.
Roy, Sumita. Mastering the Art of Business Communication. New Delhi, India: Sterling Paperbacks, 2008. Print.
Other Sources:
Neeley, Tsedal. “Global Business Speaks English.” Harvard Business Review. May 2012. Web. 17 Mar.2016.
Ritchie, Harry. “It’s Time to Challenge the Notion that There Is Only One Way to Speak English.” The Guardian. 31 Dec.2013. Web. 16 Mar.2016
Shveitser, Aleksandr Davidovich. Standard English in the United States and England. New York, NY: Mouton Publishers, 1978. Print.
