Glottophagy

 

The view expressed in the image you see above is a very common belief. I have found that it is the most commonly held belief about the purported dangers of English readily seen online, though linguists state that this claim may not be entirely justified. They say that the language may be getting a bad rap because and that black-and-white thinking is an inaccurate approach to understanding how languages work. English is not simply killing other languages and leaving no trace of their having existed.

Concepts unique to a culture and represented by a word or phrase in that culture’s tongue have a good chance of survival. You are no doubt familiar with boondocks, kawaii, and déjà vu–all of which were appreciated so much by English speakers of the past that they have now come into common usage. A great many words and phrases survive in this way.

The image below illustrates that the body of words comprising the English vocabulary. It can be called ‘English’, but it is amassed from many more languages than just English. Some of these may be words which were picked up by English speakers and remain in use unaltered from their original form. Some entries may be in use as partial words or as complete phrases. Having joined the family of some half-million English dictionary entries, expressions from other tongues which come into use by users of English are exported along with the many others to new learners throughout the world.

 

This image shows what English is composed of today. It is a combination of linguistic influences that will be different in time because some cultures are developing their own versions of English.

language shift out of necessity

North of Mexico, more than half of the surviving native languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers each. American author, Sherman Alexie, talks about his experience growing up on an Indian reservation. He was not taught the language of his heritage. An excerpt from his interview with NPR’s Terry Gross aired this past summer on their Fresh Air program. In the interview he tells of his experience in a community that has many problems. The people live in poverty and many families suffer problems that result from violence and alcohol. Alexie lived on the Spokane Reservation in Washington for Native Americans who were displaced by the US government.

Hear what Sherman Alexie had to say

 

Pressure to assimilate into mainstream society from an extant one can stem from within the community. The set of pressures like Sherman Alexie’s – inadequate medical care and inadequate schooling signify that a community is lacking in the resources. They may not have money or necessary skills. Social problems like alcoholism, and violent and property crime are linked very strongly to poverty. In communities that have chronic social problems, it usually signifies an absence of resources. Most Native Americans were denied the use of community land. This makes it impossible for them to maintain their cultural ways of making a living, so many societal problems have persisted on reservations.

Alexie’s assimilation experience is first-hand. He left the reservation for proper medical care and education. His experience is relevant today because it’s recent and it’s local: He was born in 1966 and was raised in Washington state. It illustrates that extant cultures in America continue to be marginalized and experience pressure to assimilate as indigenous communities do abroad. Alexie is a lauded author (American Book Award 1996, National Book Award 2007, PEN/Faulkner 2010) and speaks only English. His work includes themes of identity in cultures which have little of their heritage left which can contribute to a cultural identity.

Exporters

UK Guy James Watts/TimBL Changes World 

The invention of the steam engine/internet had a big impact on the Industrial/Digital Revolution. With the invention of the steam engine/internet, many things changed for industry/everything. One change was the location of factories/people. Before the steam engine/internet existed, factories/people had to be located near rivers/everything. Once it was invented, factories/people could be anywhere else.

A second impact of the Industrial/Digital revolution was on transportation/communications. The steam engine/internet made river/word travel easier and quicker & allowed railroads/info-highways to develop. This was important to the businesses/us because now they/we could transport products/messages much easier and quicker than before. Production of profits/information exchange increased.                          (Written/Edited by MKoren/DCharlot certified educator/student)

UK Guy James Watts/TimBL Changes World 

The invention of the steam engine/internet had a big impact on the Industrial/Digital Revolution. With the invention of the steam engine/internet, many things changed for industry/everything. One change was the location of factories/people. Before the steam engine/internet existed, factories/people had to be near rivers/everything. Once invented, factories/people could be anywhere else.

A second impact of the Industrial/Digital revolution was on transportation/communications. The steam engine/internet made river/word travel easier and quicker & allowed railroads/info-highways to develop. This was important to the businesses/us because now they/we could transport products/messages much easier and quicker than before. Production of profits/information exchange increased.                          (Written/edited by MKoren/DCharlot certified educator/student)

An unanticipated effect of the events following advancements made by UK engineers James Watts (1736-1819) and Tim Berners Lee (1955– ) was exportation of the language. The UK was late in the colonial game but Watts’ work introduced the English language to more points of contact across the globe than any other had been. Within the last 12–18 months websites produced in another language have come to outnumber English-language sites. TimBL’s invention of the internet & further internet technologies have exported English to anyone with access to an online connection.