ENGLISH: A LIVING LANGUAGE

Jewish English made mass audiences familiar with a linguistic device called fronting. In this kind of structure, an inversion of the word order is used to create a mock emphasis of disbelief.

Indian English: formal and dated. Here contracted phrases are common: key bunch (bunch of keys), God-love (love of God).

Japanese English: known for its “misinterpretations”. sandwiches= sand witches

the orchestra pit=orchestra box

pedestrians=passengers of foot

French: Speakers use words like le weekend, le fast food, and le sandwich.

Australian English: marked by the number of Aboriginal words that have been assimilated into the language: kangaroo, koala. These words filled gaps where there were no English equivalents for previously unknown plants animals or geographical features.

American English: separate form with its own spelling patterns: color, theater, center and traveling, and distinctive pronunciation: momen'tary (US) 'momentary (UK).

International changes - English as a world language

Criteria for a language to become a world language:

Standard International English is a distinctive form that English has developed of its own used by:

+International organizations like the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

+Pilots and air traffic controllers at airports

+International traders

+Police involved with international investigations.

+The number of first-language speakers must be high.

+Users must be spread over a wide geographical area.

+Political and economic affairs must be stable so that the language can spread without large-scale opposition.

Grammatical variations from the standard in BE

Black English is not a creole, but its source lies in the pidgin and creole language spoken by the African slaves. It is considered an anti-language: an extreme version of a social dialect which is used by speakers who are on the edges of society.

Group identify is reinforced by the use of this alternative and emphasizes that the users are outsiders.

1)The copula verb (linking verb) to be is omitted (he good).

2)The base form of the verb to be is used as an auxiliary to express habitual action in the progressive aspect. (she be thinking).

3)Verbs in the present tense third person singular are not inflected with -s (she eat).

4)The auxiliary verb do is used with the past participle to imply a finished activity (he done painted the room).

5)Plural nouns are uninflected (two apple).

6)Multiple negation is common (we don't go no more).

7)Pronoun usage differs from Standard English (me take it to dem later)

Terms of address

can provide a starting point for changing attitudes. In many contexts, there is no need to distinguish a gender of workers: "officer" can be used for "policeman".

Many words belittle women, making them seem no more than sexual objects. For example, "chicks, dolls and birds".

The "generic man" causes upset because many people feel that collocations like "political man" cannot possibly conjure up an image of political females as well as males. When "woman" is used in collocations, they usually tend to be negative. For example, "women of the night"

Features of the grammatical structures of creole languages:

+The grammatical structures used by women and men are also different: Women use tag questions more frequently; men are more likely to use commands.

+Lexical choices often seem to be related to a speaker's gender: Women are more likely to use evaluative attitudes; men are thought to use slang and swearing more frequently.

+Phonological differences are seen in the fact that women are less likely to drop final consonants and to speak with a broad accent if they feel that they need to make a good impression.

-The absence of plural forms.

-Third person singular pronouns are not marked for gender. –i is used for he, she, and it

-Nouns can be marked for gender by adding man (man) or meri (woman)

-Verbs are not marked for person or tense.

-Multiple negatives are common.

-Reduplication of words is used to extend a limited vocabulary: ile (hilly) – ileile (choppy sea).

-Reiterated words are also used to intensify meaning, to mark continuity and to create emphasis: small (small) – smalsmal (very small)

Certain lexical patterns are distinctive:

The changing faces of English

Social changes: gender and language

The order of words in compound phrases also presents a male-dominated view of the world: boys and girls, Mr and Mrs, man and wife.

Because English does not have an indefinite pronoun, many new pronominal forms have been suggested:

+The third person plural "they".

+The use of both the feminine and masculine singular pronouns: s/he, he/she.

+New pronoun forms: hesh for he/she; hirm for him/her; gen for the generic man; bod for anybody.

Sexist language reinforces stereotypical attitudes and expectations and it often implies male superiority.

In an age of political correctness, this kind of divisive language is often seen as quite unacceptable.

Research has also suggested that the roles of men and women in informal conversations are different:

+On a level of discourse: men are more likely to interrupt; men will often reject topics introduced by women; women are more likely to initiate conversations.

When a pidgin becomes the main language of a community and is learned by later generations as a first language, it is called a creole.

Prescriptive and descriptive views

Criteria for a pidgin language to become a creole:

+The vocabulary has to be expanded

+Grammatical structures have to communicate more complicated meanings.

+Style has to be adaptable.

Diachronic and synchronic approaches

The linguistic pessimists believe that English now exists in a corrupted form and they are concerned about poor spelling, grammatically incorrect sentences, the use of informal spoken language in written contexts, and inaccurate pronunciation.

However, others see language as a democratic process with new words that reflect new experiences, more liberal attitudes and a greater understanding of the world. For them, language is a product of the people who use it daily, so it develops to meet their needs.

Cultural changes - Black English

Linguists who study the ways in which English has evolved from Old English to its current form (Late Modern) are focused on a constantly changing form of the language (diachronic approach)

On the other hand, if linguists analyze the characteristics of English in a clearly defined period or stage of its development, they make use of the synchronic approach.

Changes to a standard form of language are linked directly to social class or to the promotion and preservation of a particular cultural background or ethnic identity.

Black American English (BAE) is the language used by lower-class Blacks in urban communities.

Black English Vernacular (BEV) is not a regional dialect, but a cultural or social variant from the standard form.

What changes language?

Pidgins and creoles

A contact or pidgin language was developed for the communication between English-speaking whites and Africans. They are marginal languages created by people who need to communicate but have no common language. They are marked by:

+A simplified grammar and a small vocabulary (700-2000) words.

+A smaller range of functions than either of the source languages from which they are formed.

When the need for communication is no longer important, pidgin languages die. But some become so useful that they develop a formal role an expanded pidgin or a lingua franca.

Words and structures can be altered by social, historical, cultural, or geographical influences.

This "triggers" can stimulate change in many ways:

+Historical factors.

+Cultural transmission.

+Social factors.

+Geographical location.

+The use of different registers.

+The development of English as a world language.

The history of BE in America can be linked to the slave trade in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Theories about the way in which Black English developed:

The users of the language decide what will and what will not survive as a consequence of industrial, technological and social changes in the world.

+Because the slaves learned English from their masters as a 2nd language, they passed on to their children a form of American English grammatically different from SAE.

+Its features are linked to West African languages. African slaves who spoke the same language were kept apart to prevent slave revolts. English was the only common language of the slaves. Rather than SAE, the slaves used a language made up of English and West African linguistic features.

ENGLISH: A LIVING LANGUAGE