Netspeak and Medialects in Education - Essay Example

Running Head: NETSPEAK AND MEDIALECTS Netspeak and Medialects in Education Name Institution Date Introduction English language is among the small number of languages that are spoken and used in several countries. Those countries that use English are however a distant from each other, not necessarily form the same continent. However, some countries for example the United States have enjoyed long years of independence including independence in language use. Others watched as their national languages that they originally used were displaced by English used by the colonialists due to lack of independence. An example of such a country is Ireland. The colonialists introduced English languages to their colonies thus dissolving those countries’ national languages. The mother country of English was England but the English use in most of the country is increasingly deviating from that of the motherland. Standard English is the form of English that is accepted by most people as being clear and proper. A consensus has been reached by educators, writers and publishers as what Standard English should entail. This states that Standard English includes punctuation, spelling, word choice and the order of words. Standard English is important I writing since it retains a fairly consistent standard of communication that all English speakers and others who use English can understand. This should be in spite of the differences in pronunciation, dialects and the way they use English. It is therefore the standard spoken and written English. There exists slight difference between the English that is used in the United States and that which is used in England. However, these differences do not affect the way English language is communicated with. English is used as the formal and official language even in those countries that have other languages. This is due to its popularity in most regions of the world (Bloomer, Griffiths, & Merrison, 2005). Impacts of the new varieties of English Dialects are the linguistic varieties that differ form the Standard English in pronunciation, grammar and vocabularies. Dialects are therefore the sub forms of one main language but generally they are equally comprehensible. Dialects differ from the accents in that the accents exhibit differences only in pronunciation. English language is changing and new varieties of English are coming up. This is because each generation that comes does not like how the previous generations talk and they regard the way of talking as funny. They therefore start their own forms of language altering the original language and deviating from it. Globalization and change in technology have played a great role in the changes that are taking place in the usage of Standard English. Academics argue that most of the changes are being noted in the pronunciation among the modern generation (Richards, 1999). Internet usage following the changes in technology has increase and especially among the younger generations. The first web browser emerged in 1994 and since then, global communication has changed significantly. Instant messaging and emails have increased the ability of people to offer explanations and opinions thus revolutionalizing the manner in which people communicate. This has affected the way in which language is used in communication and in writing especially English since it the language for communication among most countries globally. Debate is therefore on whether these changes are positive or negative (Rosado, 1999). Language educators and linguists have their stand on these new varieties of English as being a threat to the use of Standard English. This is true because students have adopted the upcoming varieties in English and are using it when writing their assignments and term papers. Eleanor Johnson, a professor in Columbia University, department of English and Comparative literature attributes the increasing misuse of English language to the emergence of electronic communication. Johnson states that her students have increased use of the informal English over the pats years and are consequently using the same for the formal assignments. She says that the research papers from the university level students are being submitted written in informal statements such as “you know” and other words such as “guy”. She says that the habit was not there in the previous decades and therefore attributes the habit to instant and informal communication that is on increase (Chapelle, 2003). David Crystal, a British linguist says that it has been difficult to comprehensively analyze the impact of internet to language use due to its dynamic nature. However, he believes that the World Wide Web has minimal impacts on the usage of language. He argues that the changes in language that takes place due to influence by the internet occurs parallel to changes in the existing glossary, or the word list. According to Crystal, it the additions to language that are taking place but not alterations. He also says that the major effect of internet on language use has been seen to enhance the expressive richness of English language, expanding the communicative dimensions in English that were not there before (Crystal, 2001). In his book, Language and the Internet, David Crystal says that an electronic note that is well delivers the point faster, and has a lot of suggestive words. But the spellings in these notes are however loose but no one reads the messages with an aim of doing corrections. Very few people pay attention to such mistakes so long as they get the information in the messages especially in businesses and work places since they offer a convenient form of professionalism that includes faster decision making processes and strong working relationships. He also says that the spirit of communicating through emails is highly towards carefulness. The emphasis on the use of emails is however increasing and the results will be an increase in change of expression from formal to informal where emphasis will be on consistent on the style. Emails will therefore have a place on the school curriculums and will cease to be feared as a means of linguistic irresponsibility since it is said to allow “radical geographic deviance”. It will therefore be considered as a means for which students can gain the ability to put together their stylistic insights and make responsible choices of their languages. Erin Jansen, the founder of Netlingo, an online dictionary of terms used in internet and text messaging, also states that the new technology and particularly internet usage has not basically changed the original English language but has added more to its vocabularies. He agrees with Crystal that what is being seen is an increase in the ways of using English for communication but not changing its form. He calls it freedom of expression. Educators are however frustrated wit the increase in spelling and grammar mistakes from the student but Jansen says that they are adding benefits in classroom since it is an expansion of means of expression using the same language. Jansen advocates that educators should not get upset by the habit but should take that as creativity in language use. Linguists therefore state that it is the role of the language teacher to make sure that the students understand the rules in language use and follow them (Mesthrie, 2001). The three experts therefore differ in their perception on the influence of internet to language use. Crystal and Jansen says that it is a misunderstanding of people on the internet’s impact since the electronic mail should be informal and most people do not follow proper grammar. Eleanor Johnson on the other hand says that there is a strong link between the wide range of mistakes on writing and the internet usage. She says that this is nota cultural innovation but a threat to the proper language use among students. Globalization has also led to adoption of the different English dialects even among the original English users. This is because globalization has increased the interaction between people form different parts of the world and has made most of them to deviate from their languages and adopt the one from their counterparts. Internet use has enabled people to chat and communicate instantly online from all parts of the world. People who regularly communicate online may tend to loose the originality of their languages and this may affect them when writing. The greatest worry of language educators is the impact of internet use on written English and not mostly on communication. This is because formal reports need to be written in formal English unlike communication where both formal and informal may be used. If the emerging varieties of English are allowed to flourish among the schools and in the students, this will affect learning and research work. Scientific research papers should be submitted written in formal English since their context will be affected and will lose meaning. There is therefore a need to preserve the original English and not to let the new varieties to alter the use of the original meaning of English words. English is a language that is widely used and in all areas of study. When it is therefore changed, there will be confusion in study since writing will be affected. English educators and the teachers however have a great role in protecting the original English from being manipulated by linguists. The contrast is coming due to difference in opinion form the educators and the linguist. The linguists are taking it as a positive change and additions to English vocabularies while the educators are seeing it as threat to Standard English use. Conclusion The deviations from the Standard English have been associated with globalization and changes in technology. However, the two cannot be ignored due to their other importance in the economic development and the overall development in the word. However, their influence on the use of English Language is doing more harm than good to the learning system. The electronic means of communication such as e-mails and text messages have affected the originality of English language and most of those using the electronic means of communication are deviating from the Standard English. The students and other English learners should therefore be warned of the impacts of the new varieties of English to their studies. It should be a personal responsibility of the learners to avoid the incorporation of the new varieties in their original language. References Rosado, L., (1999).English language use in a changing economy: an analysis of the use and functions of English in industry. Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico. Crystal, D., (2001).Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bloomer, A., Griffiths, P., & Merrison, A., (2005). Introducing language in use: a course book. New York: Routledge. Chapelle, C., (2003). English language learning and technology: lectures on applied linguistics in the age of information and communication technology. London: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Richards, J., (1999). New varieties of English: issues and approaches. Boston: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Mesthrie, R., (2001). The study of new varieties of English. Cape Town: University of Cape Town. Dept. of Communication. Read More