English through History and Around the World - Essay Example

? English Through History and Around the World Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Discussion 4 A. History, Development 4 B. English Language Variation Across Different Users, Locations, Social Contexts 7 C. Effects of Media, from Print to the Modern Internet, on English 7 D. Examples of Language Diversity Worldwide 8 E. Promotion, Categories of Use 8 Works Cited 10 I. Introduction This paper discusses English language diversity as reflected throughout history and in different parts of the world. The undertaking involves investigating the subject along five different threads of discussion. The first thread relates to achieving an understanding of English development and history and the adoption of an approach to critically assess the present-day influence and status of the language. The second thread relates to being able to appreciate differences in the English used by different speakers across the planet, and across different societal contexts. The third thread has to do with developing an appreciation of the way mass media, from print media to the Internet, has impacted English and the way mass media moreover has made contributions to the present state of the language. The fourth thread deals with examples relating to practices diversity in the English language, across different geographies. The fifth thread has to do with developing an understanding of the means of promotion of the language in modern contexts, and the different categories that impact usage (EnglishClub; Oxford University Press; Merriam-Webster Incorporated). English is said to have passed through many phases throughout its long history, to evolve at present to be a modern-day language for all nations, or a lingua franca that bridges people across various cultural divides. As a language spoken by those who use it as a second language, and as the language of the dominant economic and cultural power of the modern era, the United States, the English language is vital as used daily and in terms of being able to understand how it came to evolve into its present state as the unifying language for much of the world (EnglishClub; Oxford University Press; Merriam-Webster Incorporated). II. Discussion A. History, Development There are many ways in which the literature treats the development and history of the English language, one of them being the division of that history into periods, with the most recent period being the modern period, where English has become an international language and at the same time a global language adapted and used as a primary language in many areas around the world. Sticking to a phases view of the English language historical development, many nuanced histories have fine-grained phases, to the period leading up to the 17th and 18th centuries, and all the way to the 19th century, when Old and Middle English would pave the way for the version of English that would emerge out of England and make their way into the New World, America, and from there to many other parts of the world, including the Caribbean and Asia. The 1500’s, by convention is called the phase where the early Middle part of English history would give in to the Early Modern phase, and the 1700’s would mark another milestone when Early Modern English would give in finally to the modern English version that, as mentioned above, is the basis of the International and American English that will be sown to the rest of the world and taken up and changed by various non-native English speaking populations. The changes between the phases of this particular part of English history is typified by the intimacy and familiarity to modern English users of the language used by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, because they are modern, from the early Modern English used in the writings of Swift as well as Addison, which are accessible but with some translations to be understood. In turn, the older English of Shakespeare as well as Spenser is farther removed from the English spoken today, and belongs to that earlier Middle English period or earlier, and farther removed too from the English that has come to be in widespread use today, via the common language of the Internet. This period from the 1400’s to the 1800’s is most fertile and most relevant to understanding the roots of the English language in the time periods out of which the various early forms of the language emerged (Lass). Elsewhere the development and history of the English language is marked in terms of various milestones in time, beginning with the settlement of the Anglo-Saxons, when the definite beginnings of the English language have been traced. Prior to this period in history the language did not formally exist. The vagueness of this period in the development of the language is due to the fact that prior to the settlement most of the traditions for transmitting language and history were oral rather than written, so that transcriptions were not available for reference. It is true that the Celts already lived in Great Britain prior to the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, but one can say that there is no influence in the English language from the early language of the Celts. From there the next wave of changes to the language, that would mark a different period, would be the settlements that would rise out of the invasion of the Norsemen. This period would spill over into the milestone marked at the 1066 mark, or the period of the Middle English in English history. It was this phase where the English language morphed and development considerably, taking in influences from the other European languages, including French as well as Latin, a transition from the more closed early English or Old English where there was fewer accommodations for other languages into the Middle English of the period that was more liberal and more accepting of words from the other neighboring languages. Next to this is the milestone called standardization, when the language continued its evolution from the more closed forms of English into the increasingly open forms of the language moving into the late medieval period and into the modern period of the history of English. It was during this phase that the English that evolved out of London would come to be seen as the standard form of English, around which other forms would congregate. This period or milestone can be understood as being similar to the way American English through its use in many dominant platforms and applications in use today, such as the Internet, have come to be the standardized form of the language that have been adapted and used in the different countries that have taken it up. It is during this standardization period too that the pronunciation standards would change and would take up forms that are different from the pronunciation forms of conventions of earlier English, which in itself led to some ambiguities and inconsistencies in the way the words of the language have come to be pronounced in many parts of the English-speaking world. Finally the literature describes a phase called globalization and colonization, in reference to the waves of activity that are tied to the English language being uprooted from its womb in England and into the many parts of the world where it is spoken and written. This movement is in line with the process that Britain would go through spreading its power and influence to many parts of the world, hence the use of the word colonization. This period too is characterized by the bubbling up of new English language varieties as the language intersected with the use of other languages in the geographies where English landed and put to use. In this process the outcome is still being felt today, and the prognosis is that given its prolific history and the vitality of its use the future forms of the language will be even richer than they are today (Oxford University Press). B. English Language Variation Across Different Users, Locations, Social Contexts There are many forms of the English language around the world, differing across different countries, so that even though British English is the de facto standard in places like India and parts of the Commonwealth territories, there are some country-specific variations of the language that defy standardization into the English that is standard in England and its nearby geographies. Then too there are forms of English that branch off from American English, such as the English used in business communication across the world, and as propagated by the Internet, and the various cultural artifacts of the Americans, including books and the movies. Some forms of English found in Asia trace their roots not to British English but to American English. Meanwhile, on a broad level, one can say that there are many variations in the English language as there are many other languages and many other races and countries on earth. Each of the major English-speaking countries on earth can lay claim to being able to develop the language and branch it out into new forms to suit user needs and various standard and emerging social contexts, such as online social contexts for instance (The British Library Board). C. Effects of Media, from Print to the Modern Internet, on English The rise of the Internet can be seen as continuing the push to internationalize the language and make the language spread into many different countries, geographies and cultures, as a true global language. It is easy to see that the Internet has been acting as a global dispersion medium for the language, as well as a continuing platform for the evolution of the English language itself. Where in the past print media and then TV and other forms of mass entertainment such as movies, books, and radio made use of the English language and also helped in the propagation and evolution of the language, the scale and the speed with which the Internet has effected the dissemination and evolution of the language can be considered as unprecedented. For instance, the Internet has come to embody print, to the extent that traditional print media have made their way into the Internet, there to be even more easily accessed, disseminated and absorbed by existing and new users of the language. Then too, social media have given birth to new platforms where the language can further seep into the crevices and the nooks and crannies of cultures all over the world. As a vibrant stage for the further evolution of the language moreover, social media such as Facebook have come to be breeding grounds for new words and new uses for existing words in English. One can say that these emergent forms of media are doing the language a great service by serving as platforms of evolution and as agents to disseminate and deepen the use of English all over the world (Salz; Costill; Italle). D. Examples of Language Diversity Worldwide The diversity of the English language as used around the world is evidenced via a number of ways, one of them being the very nature of the pronunciation of the language itself, as typified by the differing accents of English use in different parts of the world. (UDG.edu). There is also evidence of diversity in the different ways the different cultures make use of English in daily communication, and even in the mistakes in grammar and translation the diverse nature of the use of the language can be gleaned (Daily Mail Reporter). The language moreover has been localized, in usage if not in grammar, in many parts of the world that have adopted the use of the language to express local cultural values (EnglishClub; Salz). E. Promotion, Categories of Use The widespread use of English as official language of business, as medium of education and teaching, as the language of popular culture as reflected in the movies, in books, and in songs by global artists, and also in the way the language is central to the propagation of new technologies, new science, and of the Internet, speaks volumes about the tremendous forces of promotion pushing for the further wider adoption of the English language and its penetration into more and more spheres of the local lives of different cultures (Salz). Works Cited Costill, Albert. “13 Things You Should Know About the ‘Word of the Year’ - Selfie” Search Engine Journal. 2 December 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. Daily Mail Reporter. “Wash by hand…in coleslaw: the hilarious examples of mangled English from around the world”. Mail Online. 2009. Web. 4 December 2013. < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1146283/Wash-hand--coleslaw-The-hilarious-examples-mangled-English-world.html> EnglishClub. “History of the English Language”. EnglishClub.com. 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. Italle, Leanne. “Selfie? Bah! Science is the word of the year from Merriam-Webster”. NBC News. 3 December 2013. Web. 4 December 2013 < http://www.nbcnews.com/science/selfie-hah-science-merriam-websters-word-year-2D11689606> Lass, Roger. The Cambridge History of the English Language. 1999. Web. 4 December 2013. Merriam-Webster Incorporated. “What are the origins of the English language?” Merriam-Webster Online. 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. Oxford University Press. “The History of English: Five Events that Shaped the History of English” Oxford Dictionaries. 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. . Salz, Allison. “Selfie among growing social media additions to traditional English language”. Edmonton Sun. 26 November 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. < http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/11/25/selfie-among-growing-social-media-additions-to-traditional-english-language> The British Library Board. “Minority Ethnic English: English as a Global Language”. British Library. n.d. Web. 4 December 2013. UDG. edu. “Examples of English accents around the world”. FCED.UDG.edu. n.d. Web. 4 December 2013. < http://fced.udg.edu/assignatures/phonetics/englacc.htm> Read More