What do you think will happen to English language 50 years later?
By scheng1
@scheng1 (24650)
Singapore
June 20, 2009 12:09am CST
English language is constantly evolving. From the kind of "thy" "thou" English words that you see in original King James Version and Shakespeare plays till now, you can see how far English language has evolved.
After the age of Internet, and the fast pace of life, English language has simplified to a "roflol" "btw" form of language, and many people do not have the patience or the ability to write full sentence with perfect grammar in email or text message.
What do you think will happen to English language 50 years later? Do you think teachers will ask the students to write in perfect English, and submit 1,000 words essay 50 years later?
1 person likes this
11 responses
@zeusdhi (63)
• Philippines
20 Jun 09
I guess all the words will all be shorten :D And we will be like aliens when we talk english. Maybe we will not call it english anymore maybe it will also have a different name.
I think there are teachers would do that one, ask their students to write in perfect English. Or maybe translate something from it.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
20 Jun 09
Hi Zeusdhi, I doubt the teachers in the future will teach perfect English, and make the students write in perfect English.
For one thing, the younger generations prefer to use in text language. If they grow up in this environment, even when they become teachers, they will accept the shorten language.
Maybe all the textbooks and fiction books will be half the size! There is no need to print 500 pages when 100 pages is enough to contain the information with shorten English words.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
22 Jun 09
If you had been in the classroom with me today you would be very depressed. Not only can these almost high school aged kids not speak standard informal English, they can barely read! It is appalling how bad their reading ability is. I can remember reading in class and sounding out words I had heard but not seen before and thinking "Oh, that's what that word looks like."
Even though I hadn't read the word prejudice before when I saw it in print that first time I realized immediately what the word was. These kids cannot pronounce simple words like "weave" or care.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
23 Jun 09
Oh dear, those are the ones going to high school soon? Wonder how they ever passed the examination to get to high school?
It is a pity that those kids do not know how to read and write in their mother tongue. I bet they only know how to curse and swear. Maybe they get a doctorate in the art of cursing and swearing.
Some of the kindergarten kids here can pronounce all the names of the dinosaurs accurately, while my friend, who is the childcare teacher, cannot.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
23 Jun 09
Hi Canellita, very sad to learn that. In this case, there is hardly any surprise for multinational companies to move out to other lands.
In many Asian countries, parents literally worship education. They rather go without three square meals a day, so that their children can gain a proper education.
In China, the government is very concerned that farmers ask their kids to stay home during harvest. Teachers in rural areas are making effort to provide extra coaching so that those kids do not miss out any lessons.
Even in Singapore, education is the top national concern. Everyone feels the need to upgrade and upgrade.
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
23 Jun 09
This is a really sad situation. These children really need elocution classes. They also have terrible handwriting. I can remember being kept in at recess and being made to practice my writing (even though it was not bad).
What is really sad is that these students are our future customer service representatives and food servers and civil servants and so forth. How can they be effective employees when they don't understand anything?
This same group of girls could not read a paragraph on geography and complete the first question on an open book test! The lack of comprehension is amazing and I don't know what can be done about it.
@ddfreedie (690)
• India
21 Jun 09
it will be the same...the smsing format will even degrade the present format..whateven happens english will live for long years with prosperity...
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
21 Jun 09
Hi Ddfreedie, even though English as a commercial language will live on for many years, but I doubt people will use the same standard in their writings.
Right now, grammar, sentence structure and spellings are still important aspects. In the future, it may not be. And I doubt anyone will spell the words in full if they can use short text. Maybe more and more people will use short text, and refuse to spell out in full.
@o0jopak0o (6394)
• Philippines
21 Jun 09
well the slang yo for the word you will be accepted and the ROFLCOPTER, lol, btw and such will be the norm ^^
@1boerseun (124)
• South Africa
21 Jun 09
If you see what it looked like 50 years ago, you can get some idea, except with the current development or changes in languages it will look VERY different.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
21 Jun 09
Hi 1boerseum, the rate of change is even faster with the Internet.
Before the Internet, it takes a longer time for any form or any new words to gain acceptance, with the Internet, there is no way anyone can control the changes of the language.
Wonder who started the "lol"? It sure gained acceptance very fast.
@psharpep (9)
• United States
21 Jun 09
Yes, I think that in 50 years that the English language will have drastically changed. If you look at the rate that the English language has changed in recent years it's eye opening. In the past 10 years, the English language has changed more than the past 200 years before it. The rate of change is exponential. However in my opinion that could be a good thing. Now instead of having to type, "Hey man that's pretty funny," you can simply type "lol" or the like. It worries me that IM talk has moved out of chat rooms and into the real world. I was talking to my friends the other day and I made a joke, and one of them said, "lol!". So I think I've stated my opinion here, what do you guys think? I want some input.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
21 Jun 09
Hi Psharpep, actually this form of English is in use in commercial world.
Most of us communicate with our colleages using this form of English, instead of proper English.
Once I worked in the university, and the professor replied to my email with "ok, 10q". I wrote in formal business English, and he replied in this format.
If educated folks accepted the use of diluted English in business communication, I can't imagine the way English language will be fifty years later.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
21 Jun 09
I think that in 50 years the English language will be so shortened and butchered thanks to our abysmal education system and apathy about borders, culture and language that proper English will be little more than a memory in the history books--if it's allowed to be spoken about at all.
Of course, they probably said that 50 years ago. 
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
21 Jun 09
Hi Dragon, actually the standard of English language has dropped if you compare it with fifty years ago. The words used in Reader's Digest 50 years ago are so much different from today.
And that is without the influence of Internet.
With Internet, I think the situation is much worse. Those with good command of English will immune to the bad English in discussion forum, and blogs. And people are getting less patience with writing. If they can express in less words, and less writings, they are not going to write in proper English sentence anymore.
@lazeebee (5461)
• Malaysia
20 Jun 09
I guess there will be new words coined, while some words will be dropped off from the language. Or new meanings to existing words. As to using short forms in place of full words, that's a possibility. Look at our sms, and how it has crept into the text of the emails as well!
@med889 (5941)
•
20 Jun 09
I believe teachers will still tell students to write in a complete english because it is a language which is used worldwide and I think to maintain this standard the language should be taken highly into consideration. So I do believe evn in 50 years there will be still the importance to write in full characters. Recently I took a dictionary and found new words so it is always adding new words to the english language which is very good to me.
@kalaga (547)
• United States
20 Jun 09
Written English as used in business is entirely different than the shortcuts/codes studded language used when people use English informally to communicate with each other. The slangs and acronyms and slangs are all ok when it comes to informal communication -- be it the SMSes that people send to each other or instant messages that one sends/receives.
As a business language, English has evolved and stabilized over the ages and will remain predominantly the same.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
21 Jun 09
Hi Kalaga, actually email has changed the Business English too.
Many people do not treat email as a formal business communication mode, and they tend to use shortcut/codes or whatever diluted English in their emails. Some even use the diluted English for communication with suppliers. It is common to see emails with "u" instead of "you" in the email body.
Actually email communication, whether internal or external, is a formal communication, and admissible in court. Wonder what will happen when all the emails with informal English sentences are admitted in court, and printed out in the national papers.
Only the printed letters and emails to customers are standard Business English.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
21 Jun 09
Hi Myx, even today in office email communication, all the short text and diluted English is already in use.
If the commerical world does not want to use proper English, then there is no way the academics can keep the language in its proper form for too long. Some of the professors in university resort to short text format in their email communications with university and students researchers. Only in their publications do they use proper English
