Britain takes the Challenge

After establishing the true influence of the English language on a global level, let’s focus on how the British Empire was able to establish its tongue in India. During this time period, Britain’s English represented an empire capable enough to establish itself into nothing less than a country with over a thousand million people: India. And this time, not only was population a problem, but English was now competing with 200 other tongues spoken by the people as well. What dazzles me is the way this foreign potency was “accepted” even though it was basically obligated. Their manipulation of power led a humongous country such as India to be linguistically influenced to the point where rebellions are driven by posters in English and advertisement ads are also subtitled in this very same language. With this phenomenon the English language was enriched immeasurably no matter if it was seen with a sense of pride, shame, or corruption of one’s culture. English had made its way and it was bound to stay.

This demonstrates the influence an empire poses over a “conquered” country. One that was indirectly forced to speak an idiom that went against its beliefs and religion, but it became crucial to the development of their economy and industry. The question becomes, why are descriptivist’s so concerned about the standardization of a language where change is inevitable? Listen to a native from India speak English and notice their extreme accent and burrowed words from their native tongues. I believe it is almost natural for this to happen and I do not consider it a corruption of English, but rather an adaptation.

The Adventure of English. Dir. Nigel Wattis. Perf. Amanda Root and David Gwillim. LWT, 2003. Youtube. 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

Destruction or Immortality?

It all began in the late 17^th century with the Age of Reason, when our language found itself caught in massive political turmoil inside the walls of Britain. Not only had the king fled to Oxford College, but civil war was crumbling the walls of an empire. One strong enough to impose a language that merged cultures, created neologisms, burrowed lexicography from Latin, and at the same time standardized its usage with dictionaries.

John Locke wrote an essay titled “Human Understanding”, in which he introduces the idea that with a better use of language the end of disputes would be reachable. In other words, he believed that if they all agreed upon the definition of words it would only mean one thing: peace. I won’t dare to say I disagree with his rational idealism because after all isn’t racial discrimination, one issue most countries hope to eliminate, based mainly on the usage of insulting words? We give it our own definition. Rap songs written and sung by African American’s are bombarded with the word “nigga”, usually meaningless in between themselves, but when used by others to describe them it is extremely racist and insulting. BANNED. I will agree that language is a “master of life”, as expressed by Locke, and at the same time should not be a “vicious abundance of phrases” (John Locke, The Adventure of English).

While Newton was changing the meaning of words according to his studies, Jonathan Swift expressed concern about the rapid change of our language. He questioned a writer’s ability to write with creativity and enthusiasm while knowing that in a couple of centuries the future generations to follow won’t be able to understand it. They were starting to clip vowels and abbreviate words such as “pos” for positive and “mob” for Latin vulgus. Instead he found “purity” when it came to Greek and Latin. His theory stated that these two languages had survived because they hadn’t changed. But is this true in 2013? Is Latin popular amongst my generation? I will have to agree to disagree with Mr. Swift.  English on the other hand, has been changing faster than we can control it, and as far as I know it is the number one language in the whole world. Sure enough it is a newborn compared to others, but will its constant malleable usage destroy it or make it immortal?

The Adventure of English. Dir. Nigel Wattis. Perf. Amanda Root and David Gwillim. LWT, 2003. Youtube. 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.

Americanisms

 And now here comes America! This episode analyzes several theories about American English from the Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary war, all the way to the 1920’s. In this blog entry I have decided not to write endless paragraphs about our linguistic history, but rather examine certain terms and vocabulary words that are worth knowing and employing.

Buffalo Bill:” Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West Show” was the introduction of what would become America’s voice. The age of cowboys and Indians would be the epoch that fired the English language with the Westward movement of the American pioneers.

Yorktown: A village of southeast Virginia on the York River north of Newport News. It was the site of Cornwallis's surrender of the British forces (1781) in the American Revolution. During the Civil War Union troops occupied the town after a siege in 1862.

Tremor: (n) A shaking or vibrating movement, as of the earth.

Melancholy: (n) Sadness or depression of the spirits; gloom

Endowed: (tr, v.) To provide with property, income, or a source of income.

Lexicographer: (n) One who writes, compiles, or edits a dictionary.

Americanisms: An English word or phrase--or a feature of grammar, spelling, or pronunciation--that originated in the United States and/or is used primarily by Americans.

Advocate: (tr. v.) To speak, plead, or argue in favor of.

The Golden Age ay Scottish

As I watched the episode “The Guid Scots Tongue”, I was impressed with the fact that Scottish, being one of the oldest tongues in Britain with the Anglo Saxon tribes, might have become a language of its own. The video is introduced with a news broadcaster who blabbers away in what seems to be our English, yet with a slight twist in accent. It sounded like she had swallowed pepper as was struggling in every word to just spit it out, taking advantage of the r’s to breakthrough a sweat. There were clear subtitles at the bottom, but it was almost as if she was talking in Gibberish the whole time. I did a little research and with the help of the narrator I was able to make out these words with their corresponding translations:

“Ken”                                                NO

“Bide”                                               Stay

“Wee”                                               Small

“Gang”                                              Go

Thanks to our reading of The Stories of English, I was able to connect Scotland’s Golden Age with “received pronunciation”. During this era Scottish was the main tongue of the kings, queens, and aristocrats in the country. Not only was it considered prestigious, but the people started to imitate the upper class just like we learned with Received Pronunciation. This is how the idiom quickly became popular amongst the lower and middle classes of Scotland. This I would consider to be a sociological explanation for a linguistic phenomenon that even today is used in the northern part of the country. 

Personally I find the Scottish accent rather disturbing, but this is just me being intolerant of change. Anyhow I found a cool video from actor and voice coach Garreth Jameson. If you are intrested in learing how to imitate a Scottish accent well the be my guest and enjoy the video!

“The Guid Scots Tongue.” The Story of English: First Season. Writ. Robert MacNeil,Robert MacCrum and William Cran. Dir. William Cran.BBC, 1986. DVD.

Sassenach an' its infectioos ways (English and its Infectious Ways

Sae Ah guess whit Ah hae learned sae far abit th' basic ancestral cabre ay uir sassenach leid is 'at it originated frae a body ay seven tribes. these waur called th' angles. they ur better knoon nae frae generations ay sassenach 'spikin, but frae their tendency tae droon fowk in bugs…yeah bonnie savage. anyhaw, thes is whaur it aw started an' its worth rememberin' th' gory details if it’s gonnae help ye identify them later oan coz Ah ken it will sure stick tae me. durin' th' second episode ay thes fascinatin' an' intriguin' season, we ur introduced tae tois coosins frae Weels whose names ur stoaner tae enaw tae min' lit aloyn write. apparently they spick varieties descended frae th' sam selic leid. their wuid an' vocabulary ur common tae baith languages, but their sassenach is still spoken wi' a raither strang welsh accent. these characteristics includin' th' rolled “r” an' extended pauses atween syllables originated frae th' selic warriors fa waur knoon fur fightin' wi' fury an' ecstasy in their voices. thes phenomenon Ah believe explains th' welsh accent, meanin' 'at linguistically 'spikin, culture an' ways ay life main hae played a big role in determinin' th' tain, accent, an' e'en writin' ay th' future generations. as we can see th' coosins ur a perfect example ay whit david crystal, authur ay th' stories ofenglish, woods a caa a “hybrid leid.” their mixed tongue, a blend atween welsh an' sassenach, allows them tae introduce words ur phrases frae a body leid tae th' other. we can e'en see thes linguistic trend reit haur in th' famoos “spanglish” 'spikin students ay cng. we can deny it aw we want but we jist can’t help mixin' sassenach an' spanish, uir tois mammy languages, intae a horrific soondin' new hybrid. whit Ah also learned frae th' video, which ance again proves 'at sassenach is in fact invadin' an' endangerin' natife idioms, is th' fact 'at only 20% ay th' population claims welsh as their first leid. they seem tae feel they cannae bide an entire day withit th' use ay sassenach tae increase their popularity an' opportunities in international markets. it is th' start ay a period ay transition.

TRANSLATION BELOW!!

So I guess what I have learned so far about the basic ancestral tree of our English language is that it originated from one of seven tribes. These were called the Angles. They are better known not from generations of English speaking, but from their tendency to drown people in bugs…yeah pretty savage. Anyhow, this is where it all started and its worth remembering the gory details if it’s going to help you identify them later on because I know it will sure stick to me.

During the second episode of this fascinating and intriguing season, we are introduced to two cousins from Wales whose names are hard to enough to remember let alone write. Apparently they speak varieties descended from the same Celtic language. Their word and vocabulary are common to both languages, but their English is still spoken with a rather strong Welsh accent. These characteristics including the rolled “r” and extended pauses between syllables originated from the Celtic warriors who were known for fighting with fury and ecstasy in their voices. This phenomenon I believe explains the Welsh accent, meaning that linguistically speaking, culture and ways of life may have played a big role in determining the tone, accent, and even writing of the future generations.

As we can see the cousins are a perfect example of what David Crystal, author of The Stories of English, would a call a “hybrid language.” Their mixed tongue, a blend between Welsh and English, allows them to introduce words or phrases from one language to the other. We can even see this linguistic trend right here in the famous “Spanglish” speaking students of CNG. We can deny it all we want but we just can’t help mixing English and Spanish, our two mother languages, into a horrific sounding new hybrid. What I also learned from the video, which once again proves that English is in fact invading and endangering native idioms, is the fact that only 20% of the population claims Welsh as their first language. They seem to feel they cannot live an entire day without the use of English to increase their popularity and opportunities in international markets. It is the start of a period of transition.

“The Mother Tongue.” The Story of English: First Season. Writ. Robert MacNeil,Robert MacCrum and William Cran. Dir. William Cran.BBC, 1986. DVD.

The Battle of English

 Did you know that English is the universal language amongst airlines in all 157 countries of the world? That half of the telephones that ring are in English speaking countries? It is used in 10,000 newspapers around the world, and yes that includes Cairo and Jerusalem if you were wondering. It even gets to the cardinal point where European hit parades have a playlist of more than half of American songs. This only lead me to the obvious and general curiosity of finding out just how big of an influence English is. Based on these mesmerizing facts, it seems to me like it is infecting other cultures, it is invading historical media, and it is indirectly imposed so that the world has no other option than to adapt this talk. It has been called a “super dialect” by Dr. Burchfield editor of Oxford English Dictionary, but how can it be super if it's native population only makes up 4.5% of the world's.

World War II was the highlight of BBC English, but ironically American Edward Almoro was the one to call the victory in Europe on 1945, signalizing the beginning of American English. And so the battle begins. We ask ourselves this: if the British Empire was slowly crumbling and the era of decolonization had begun, why didn’t American English immediately take over? This question is easily analyzed by Prof. Braj Kachro of University of Illinois, and surprisingly makes perfect sense. Instead of a shift of British English to American English, we see the rise of native languages. It’s hard enough to picture why a country so big such as India would want to maintain a tongue that only symbolizes colonization in their history, and most importantly one that is no longer being imposed. Apparently, English has the advantage that it is and forever will be a neutral communication among these countries. It is no longer a nation’s native language symbolizing patriotism and years of foundation, but instead it has become a chain that links India with the rest of its competing English traditions. As mentioned in episode 1, the government and most offices function in English and even protesters who fight for internal affairs use an international idiom to express their demands. This is only a brief episode about the story of English, yet we already start to realize how powerful and vital it has become for the development of foreign nations across the Atlantic Ocean.

 

“An English Speaking World.” The Story of English: First Season. Writ. Robert MacNeil,Robert MacCrum and William Cran. Dir. William Cran.BBC, 1986. DVD.

“ The Mother Tongue.” The Story of English: First Season. Writ. Robert MacNeil,Robert MacCrum and William Cran. Dir. William Cran.BBC, 1986. DVD.