THE MONOLITHIC TERM ‘STANDARD ENGLISH’ IS AN OUTDATED CONCEPT IN THE 21ST CENTURY. DISCUSS.
Introduction
Now, this is an expression for ‘by the way, I would be right back in five minutes.’ This is how English language is being used these days. The metamorphosis of English, predominantly driven by technology, has been well accepted by the pundits of classical English and the trusted Oxford dictionary has added several of these to its Standard English. Is there a dilution of standards or is it simply that English language is adapting to the changes of the 21st century and keeping pace, eventually losing its conventional and stiff upper lip approach to the language.
Modern day communication methods, though takes place extensively in English, have changed permanently the way English language is spoken, written, and understood. This is almost to the extent that certain fundamental rules of grammar have been brushed to remain under the carpet forever.
Has the English language moved from the English fold? This paper explores how the English language has undergone a transition and how millennials, in their pursuit of comfort and convenience have pushed English towards an extensive metamorphosis using emoji included. This essay discusses about whether the monolithic term ‘Standard English’ is an outdated concept in the 21st century or is it continues to be the same language since the time it evolved.
Standard English – How to Define?
Standard English is seen as a distinctive dialect with a combination of linguistic features, which have a particular role to play. Standard English has no native local base. There is absolutely nothing in this form of English, either grammar or vocabulary, to identify with a specific country. The components of Standard English are grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation. It is not a matter of pronunciation. Standard English is spoken in different variety of accents.
The Standard English has certain amount of prestige associated and the prestige thus attached forms the motivation in recommending Standard English as a desirable educational target. It is normally used by leading institutions like the media, courts and the government, and is widely disseminated among the public. Therefore, it is also to be inferred that, it is widely understood, though it is to be highlighted that not everyone could comprehend all its features.
Standard English is widely understood; yet, it is not widely produced. Only some section of people, for instance, like the news readers or the government officials, may actually practice speaking Standard English, and hence, it gets labelled to be the ‘Queen’s English’ or the ‘BBC English.’
Being exposed to English produced from a variety of nations, it is not really wrong to infer that English stands as an intensely unifying force, despite the fact that there could be a variety of variations that exist. It is but a fact that, English which is uniform, neutral regionally, does not yet exist.
Every country where English is first language see themselves as the guardians of the language, and are also aware of the linguistic identity to the extent that they want to protect it from the influence of others. For instance, Australians want to keep out New Zealanders, Canadians do not want to be seen as Americans, and of course, Americanisms are perceived as a serious threat to the English language all over the world except in the United States.
It can be easily inferred that globally one follows either American English or the British English. In certain rare exceptions like Canada, there is a mixture of influences coming from both the languages.
There is definitely a grammatical differentiation between the American English and the British English. Going a little further, there is also an element of distinctive local styling that can be seen at a country level. There is also a notion of standard pronunciation which is relevant in the international setting, where English is used as a first language or a second language. It is therefore, fairly difficult to have a definition cast in iron for Standard English, due to numerous facts like it’s presence, pace of development over a period of time, among others things.
English has such wide presence across geographies and countries. History of the modern mankind can be traced back to the last 400 years. However, the history of modern English is only 40 years old. This has been an era of rapid development.
The number of independent states and countries, going by the UN membership have more than doubled since the year 1960. The human population has grown from 2.5 billion in 1950 to over 5 billion in the year 2000. With such rapid growth has been the growth of the English language too.
The Transition of English in the 21st Century
The English language is largely considered as being the sole global language. However, the moot question is if it would retain its pre-eminence in the 21st century? In the modern day world, the usage of English is in its nascent stages of significant social, demographic as well as economic transition. Even though the likelihood of using English continues to exists, the future however is quite uncertain than it is largely assumed.
During the last few decades, English has been in use more as a lingua franca all over the world, precisely for scientific, economic, and political exchange of communication. Lingua France, as defined by Matthew is “any language used for communication between groups who have no other language in common.” According to Crystal , roughly about 85% of the global organizations use English as their official language that is used for all sorts of business communication transnationally. Also, 85% of the global film productions are known to be using English along with 90% of academic articles that have been published globally in a wide range of subjects are in English.
The evolution of English as a global language as well as the advent of the Internet as a means of rapid communication with the absence of any boundaries, are together imposing trends in today’s world of globalization. Since its origination, the Internet has, apparently revolutionized and is continuing to transform the ways in which we communicate and also the learning of English language in a global environment.
The language is now firmly entrenched as a world language. There has been a sense of self-reflection at the end of the millennium and the economic globalization twined with technological advancements have erased the reassuring linguistic boundaries and sovereignties. There is definitely conspicuousness of change. However, in the same breath, there is no roadmap that is clearly visible as yet. It is apparent that we have moved past the old era, but what is the new era? The future of this language is uncertain and definitely no straightforward.
There are significant global trends in economics, technology, and culture that are deeply impacting the learning as well as the use of English language at an international level. It is at the end of the 20th century that the transition seem to be happening and a new world order in the use and management of English are emerging. The English language has taken different newer forms. When it is looked back over the past 1500 years, the language has changed substantially. There have been influences of other languages as well as the impact of changing communication needs of the people using this language.
English is being used for more and more purposes than ever before in the history of mankind. It is at the forefront of technological and scientific development. It is strengthening new thinking processes in economics and management. Newer forms of literature and entertainment genres are emerging.
Many of the above discussed developments have given rise to newer vocabularies, grammatical forms, and how the language is spoken and written, and this is very apparent in the way English is used for communication in the internet world. It is expected that sooner or later that people who speak English as second language will far exceed native English speakers. This opens doors for impressions of several native languages to be formed on the English language.
The native English speakers will sooner or later become a minority. The literature from the so called native countries may not be relevant as a focal point, and the teachers from such native countries may no longer be authoritative models for learners. On one hand, the global lingua franca English calls for setting and maintenance of standards. On the other hand, usage of English as a second language creates several local forms, thus creating fragmentation and diversity. These competing trends create a loss of predictability for the English language and also how it is learned and used.
New World Order
Many economists, theorists and political scientists have predicted that the 21st century world order will be significantly different from what existed from the previous centuries. Predominantly, there is an influence of the internet world and the other information technologies. There has been a disruption of traditional patterns of communication. These traditional patterns have been the foundation for national and institutional cultures, and that itself has been fundamentally disrupted.
The world today is in a period where communication is a central activity in all dimensions – economic, political, social and cultural aspects of human life, and it is exactly at this juncture that the English language has emerged as a global language.
There have been dramatic changes in the way organizations are thinking and behaving. Bottom-line orientation has altered; environmental issues that were once relegated to oblivion have now emerged as the second bottom-line.
Social equity which was never part of the business language, today has emerged as the third bottom-line. Therefore, the global use of English will also now translate to newer forms of social responsibility, which will push engagement with a much more complex form of public issues.
What is the future?
The future of English therefore engages with a wide spectrum of different dimensions, however with a common theme – how the changing world is impacting the use of English as a language? Language today is serving a primary purpose and the implications for the native providers of language are myriad.
There are several questions that need to be answered towards understanding the future of language. A few such questions that need to be answered are:
How many people would actually speak English by the middle of the 21st century?
What role will English play in their lives? Would there be a deep appreciation for English literature or would it just be a tool facilitating their lives?
What impact will economic globalization have on English?
Will other world regions with different languages challenge English?
What role will English play in the economic modernization of newer countries?
Will the internet become flagship of global English?
Will globally popular media channels like CNN and MTV promote American English?
Will English become the reason for extinction of other world languages?
Will English give Britain any key economic advantage?
Conclusion
The changing pattern of businesses and work practices are definitely impacting English in innumerable complex ways. As the number of people learning and using English increases, English continues to change and evolve. As the number of people using English grows globally, English as second language (ESL) speakers are beginning to form the core of language users and the native speakers are becoming minority. This transition itself will deeply impact cultural resources as well as intellectual property in English. English is seen as a means for being at the leading side of scientific, technological, economic and cultural development. The dominance of English is expected to give way to a much wider use of the language in different contexts, media and applications. Standard English is undoubtedly outdated in the 21st century relevance and context.
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