Today, the whole class did presentations on their interpretation of the articles on the English language.
We had it mainly split into 4 categories with some overlapping. We had: Accent, Stereotypes, Texting and the Uses of English.
An accent is a way we pronounce our words.
I agree with what the presenters had mentioned, that there are no distinct accents as it can evolve over time by surrounding ourselves with different people and culture.
Some people think that the way we pronounce the words are wrong. Like how some people think that Queens English is the ‘proper’ English, that it is very prestige, very posh.
But to tell the truth, there is no actual correct way of speaking English. Just because you speak differently and pronounce the words differently, that doesn’t necessarily that it’s wrong.
Accents can help people feel a sense of belonging and uniqueness, but can also feel excluded from people that have different accents than them and could sometimes cause troubles with communication
Because of the differentness (I can’t believe that this is a word), we would sometimes judge others and categorize people just based on their accents. And this is called stereotyping, which not coincidentally, the next part.
Stereotypes: Accents, how they speak, the word choice that doesn’t make sense to you.
So as previously mentioned in the paragraph above, we the people might start judging people based on their accent.
And this can’t be changed as well, we humans can never stop judging. We just can’t. You might be thinking: When have I judged people before. But just admit it. You’ve judged before. Though I believe that you are one of the people that tend to judge less than others.
Anyways, moving on. Since stereotypes are “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing” (quoting from the Oxford Dictionary)
And the question to you is: Where have these oversimplified ideas come from?
Based on the information shared, there is a possibility that it might have been a common thing in the past. Or maybe it is due to some people of the same country speaking using the same words. Or maybe it’s because others had found it funny that they had shared it with everybody and made it a stereotype.
Personally, I can think of some examples each reason. But I ain’t gonna go into that.
The way we are speaking is changing. With our pace of life getting faster, we need to be able to communicate even faster. And that’s where technology comes in.
Our current modern technology allowing us to communicate with less effort and faster. And this is something called ‘texting’.
But some people think that texting is killing our language. Is that true? I don’t believe so.
I mean, if we can speak like we write, like those boring, long, complicated words and deep speech, then why can’t we write like how we speak? Which also ultimately means texting! LOGIC!
Also, texting should be qualified as a language as it is just a different way of using words. In texting, we use slang. And slang actually stands for short language, which means that it is still considered as language. Though slang is not always clear to people.You still understand each other even though we are changing some words. Though I wouldn’t go so far to using slangs in essays. as it doesn’tS make others feel like you shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Agreeing with the speaker, although we are still able to understand each other even though we are using slang, I wouldn’t go so far as to using slangs in essays and formal writings as it doesn’t make others feel like you shouldn’t be taken seriously.
English has become a global language, successfully becoming a language family (search that up if you don’t know what it means). It has been included in so many other cultures and has formed new languages such as Singlish and Kiwiglish.
One of the many reasons why there is such new languages is due to the country’s people wanting to bring back their culture/language. Kiwiglish is a very good example of this.
Kiwiglish is English and Maori, a language that has been previously suppressed after New Zealand was colonized. The Maori language was a very important part of the country’s culture as the people of New Zealand has been trying hard to bring back the language after it was banned. Currently, it is becoming popular again, so good job! I believe that the reason why they want to bring the language back is to help separate their own culture from the others, making sure that they are different.
Getting back on topic, English has become such a significant universal language that children are encouraged to learn it at a young age, that it has contributed an extra £14.5bn to UK economy as they were able to communicate and trade, that it has become a solid guidance for employment, that education all over the world is recognizing English as the standard students should be reaching for. Congrats, English!
When we are using our language, we sometimes change the structure of our sentences to get the responses we want without sounding too rude. And trust me, it happens all the time.
“That colour looks hideous on you” and “Why not we look at the different colours first before deciding”
The latter would sound much better, though you are trying to imply the same thing. Funny, isn’t it?
We (well, most of us) will consider our word choice to determine whether it is suitable for the situations we are put in. I don’t really know how to describe….
But anyway, in conclusion, English is constantly evolving. And just accept it.