Reasons Why English Language Changes All The Time

Their slow and constant metamorphosis and their ability of absorbing new words every day, while making others obsolete have determined linguists to characterise languages as ‘living’. While most don’t realise it, no two people from the same community who share a similar accent and dialect speak identically; there are always going to be slight variations based on age, gender, education, ethnicity and social background.

Although important characters from academic environments have attempted to deride the language change for centuries, their efforts were unsuccessful. Let’s explore the sources that dictate change for the English language at the moment.

• Error

By far, the quaintest reason for language change is human error, meaning the blunders that people commit when pronouncing words or ordering them in a sentence. Currently, there are two types of mistakes with the ability to shape the English language, namely mispronunciation and malapropism.

While the former is self-explanatory, malapropism refers to the use of an incorrect word instead of one with a similar sound, often resulting in a nonsense and amusing utterance. Former US president George W. Bush has delighted us over the years with a bundle of language confusions and redundant statements, such as ‘it will take time to restore chaos and order’.

• Imagination

Writers have had a pivotal role in shaping languages by coming up with new and more or less interesting figurative nooks and crannies within their poems and novels. William Shakespeare, for instance, is one of the most-cited examples of writers who have enriched the English language.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the characters in his plays have introduced more than 2,000 words to the English language by adding prefixes and suffixes, connecting words that have never been used together, changing verbs into nouns and vice versa. In fact, chances are you’re using quite a number of Shakespearean words and phrases every day without knowing it!

• Invention

A further driver that has constantly shaped the English language is invention in general, and the internet in particular. With the rise of the internet, people have been forced to find words to describe new technological tools, such as modems, blogs, e-commerce, and etc. English is considered the main language of the online medium and it is estimated that in 10 years, it will dominate the World Wide Web entirely.

Nevertheless, linguists predict that the English used in a decade from now is going to be completely different from what you are familiar with today. The change is promoted by the fact that non-natives will use English to communicate with other non-natives, and the internet constitutes a medium where there is little pressure on accent, grammar and spelling.

• Democratisation

Studies conducted by the esteemed Cambridge University in the past two decades suggest that the standards regarding languages are slipping. Not only are children today overusing the word ‘love’ to describe everything from art to beanbags, but they also show a propensity towards inserting the word ‘like’ substantially more often, almost in every sentence. Considering that today’s kids are tomorrow’s voters and watchers, it was just a matter of time before politicians and the media eagerly adopt these practices.

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