Posts

Infectious Disease or Linguistic Change?

Image
Is Multicultural London English really ruining the English Language? ‘No-one spoke this way in my day!’, ‘Teach children to speak properly!’. Both are common arguments everyone’s heard at some point from ‘concerned’ adults, who seem convinced that the English language has seriously declined in quality since the ‘Good Old Days’ – but is there any truth to this, or is this claim the result of stereotyping? Multicultural London English, or MLE, is a sociolect spoken mainly by young people in London which contains Jamaican Creole. This has caused stigma with adults because apparently, it’s ‘dumbing down’ the English Language, and will result in children growing up ‘thick’ and leave young people unable to get jobs. There are many reasons why this is ridiculous, but let’s start with the first: there is absolutely no proof that the quality of English Language is declining! This common prescriptivist view – meaning the opinion of a non-linguist – was explained by Jean Aitchison using...
Post a Comment
Read more

Learning Language – How is it done?

Image
Learning Language – How is it done? Do children learn to speak through imitation, or is there more to it? ‘Say Mama! Say Dada!’ From gurgling, to babbling, to speaking their first fully formed word, it’s a joyful time for every parent to listen to their child learn to speak. But how – and why – do they learn to make those first sounds? Is imitation the answer, or does evolution play a part? Will your child still learn to speak if you stick them in front of the TV all day? You might think there’s a clear answer to this question, but in actual fact, many theories have been developed over the years to explain why your little one is acquiring language. But first of all, lets address imitation. B.F. Skinner developed the Behaviourism theory – simply put, Behaviourism means that we imitate the linguistic behaviour we hear around us.   However, although your child might be able to parrot a word back to you, it’s unlikely that they know what the word means at this stage – for ex...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 txt, or nt 2 txt?

Image
2 txt, or nt 2 txt? Is texting really destroying our language? Imagine this: you’ve just been offered a job you really, really wanted, or you’ve passed an important exam with flying colours. And you’re thrilled! In your joy, you decide to share the good news with your friends and family – and reach for your mobile phone. And why? Simple – because in the world we currently live in, texting is the easiest, most efficient way of communicating quickly. In just a few seconds, you can send a text and your friends and family will have the good news sitting right in their pocket. Texting is fast and convenient – so why has it received so much hatred? A response heard far too often to this is as follows: Because of the ‘grotesque’ abbreviations! And what about the kids? They’ll become illiterate! They’ll fail their exams! These myths are ridiculous! It’s true that abbreviations are a common feature of text messages, and that young people do text a lot – but why is this assume...
Post a Comment
Read more

Women’s Language Rights!

Image
Women’s Language Rights! Why is the language women speak not taken seriously? Picture this: you’re a woman, about to sit that all-important job interview you’ve spent days preparing for. You’re highly qualified and perfect for the job, but you’re rejected because – drum roll, please – of the way you speak. How is it, in any way, fair that a man who is less qualified is more likely to get the job than this woman, because his language is more ‘assertive’? It isn’t, and it needs to change. Let me tell you a fact that might surprise you: men and women speak the same language. There is no such thing as one gender’s specific ‘language’ being superior to the other; they’re identical. So why is it that we still insist on pointing out the ‘differences’ in the language between men and women, and worse still, using it as a form of discrimination against women? The theory for looking at gender differences in language in the present day is called the Diversity model. This is the id...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Joy of Regional Accents!

Image
The Joy of Regional Accents! Should we really be teaching children to lose their accents? Be whoever you want to be! Don’t care about what other people think! Follow your dreams! These are just some of the things we tell our children as they’re growing up. You can do whatever you want to do! There’s another. And so, our children walk into school on that fateful first day with their heads held high, just ready to achieve their goals, while their proud parents look on and weep – when suddenly, BAM! School bans them from their own identity almost as soon as they step in the doors. Yeah kids, be whoever you want to be – if that person has an RP accent. Your accent is a part of who you are. It is a mark of your identity, just as your skin colour is, and you should be proud of it. We want our children to be proud of who they are – but how can they, when schools are banning their accents? Take the primary school in the West Midlands, for example, who have banned students from sp...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Emoji Evolution!

Image
The Emoji Evolution! Is it possible that emoji’s are actually improving our language? Grinning Face! Face With Tears of Joy! Rolling on the Floor Laughing! I don’t know about you, but I, along with many others, use emoji’s for everything. Emphasis! Punctuation! Emotional cues, and, best of all, when you simply don’t want to respond! For me, emoji’s are a life saver – so then why do people hate them so much? A popular argument against emoji’s is that communicating in pictures is causing our language to evolve backwards, but I have to disagree. In a modern world where more people are texting than ever, emotional cues are being lost when not talking face-to-face, and the meaning behind our texts are being misunderstood - for example, the text, ‘I see your diet is going well’ could be interpreted as an unkind comment with the intention to offend, when really the sender is just making a joke. And how are over 90% of texters rescuing this awkward situation? Emojis! If our te...
Post a Comment
Read more

To swear, or not to swear?

Image
To swear, or not to swear? Is swearing a sign of limited vocabulary? Picture the scene: you’re walking around, minding your own business, when suddenly you stub your toe. Before you know it, an expletive – dammit! – has slipped through your teeth. Don’t bother denying it. We’ve all done it! But the question is: why? For some reason, people seem to have got the idea into their head that swearing is a sign of low intelligence and limited vocabulary. I mean, you surely wouldn’t swear if you knew more sophisticated words, would you? Of course you would! And, believe it or not, the reason why is scientific. Amazingly, studies have shown that uttering a curse word increases pain tolerance – thus explaining why you would swear if you stubbed your toe. In this study, people could keep their hands submerged in iced water for longer if they swore than if they didn’t. In a way, this means swearing acts like an anaesthetic – it’s another way for us to relieve ourselves of some...
Post a Comment
Read more