Evaluate the idea that changes in communication technology have had a damaging effect on the English Language

 Although the advancement of technology has been extremely important in our society and, as a society, people have benefitted from this development, the changes in communication due to technology have had everlasting effects on the English language. The way we speak and the way we write have both been impacted by this sociological change and will greatly impact on society for years to come. 

Language, by its nature, isn’t static and, like how Latin was split into French, Italian and Spanish, English is now breaking up into different English’s’ with the advancement of technology. The language has never been entirely ‘one’ as many seem to believe because from as early as the 1400s, the discovery of America, English has been breaking up and forming its own form of the language. Other examples such as Singlish and Hinglish, of which came from Singapore and India, are their own versions of the English language, mixed to allow ease in conversation. However, with the advancement of technology and globalisation, English has begun to change more than ever. This globalisation of English is due to it being a lingua franca, a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different, for most countries. But with a worldwide use of technologies, other languages are being adopted. Examples of this come directly from technologies with social medias such as Twitter adopting Korean and Japanese words such as “oppa” and “[name]-Chan” from K-pop and anime fandoms. Theorist Henry Jenkins came up with ideas of fans actively participating in what they enjoy and taking language into their own hands to advance language. As well as this, Twitter is known for bringing new words into the Oxford dictionary such as “LOL”, “TL;DR” and “FOMO” which all allow people to express certain feelings without having to actually say anymore than they need to and now can be universally understood. These words are used to such an extended amount that people have now accepted them into everyday lexis with words that were originally solely used online and in text speech, also being used in everyday speech as they allowed for a wider variety of language to be spoken. Despite this, changes in technology have had a negative impact on the English language as this casual speech becomes common and therefore, in important situations such as job interviews, if somebody doesn’t have the ability to code switch, they may not be able to get a job. Although the language expanding is great for being able to keep up with our constantly changing society, it doesn’t help those who have to use professional language in order to succeed in life. 

As well as this English language has been changed within written language too which has changed drastically. With email first revolutionising immediate messaging and altered the structure of the letter as a communicative tool, bringing with it a whole new etiquette. New conventions and abbreviations were introduced such as “IMO” (in my opinion), “FWIW” (for what it’s worth) and “FYI” (for your information). However, email English is tame in comparison with text English with the rate and extent of change being astounding. More people currently have a mobile phone capable of accessing the internet than have a PC with net access which suggests at the number of people who can access online social media and apps. Social media plays a huge part in the changes in communication with abbreviations becoming part of texting speech, mainly due to Twitter which has a 280 character limit, meaning that people shorten words in order to fit what they wish to say. Although they stay the same in spoken English, words like “your”, “mate” and “see” are shortened down considerably to “ur”, “m8” and “c”, allowing for more to be said in a shortened form of language. This use of language is so common now that they’re universally recognised and understood by most English speakers with access to the internet. Twitter also introduced people to the idea of uppercase as shouting and lowercase as the accepted form, hence why uppercase is seen on social media and in text messages and not in emails or on the news. However, although the abbreviated words and new forms of text can be considered helpful and easier for people as a society, these changes in the English language due to technology have a negative effect in the sense that they make people lazy, choosing to use shortened words to correct English. 70% of 15-24 year olds say they ‘could not live’ without their mobile phone which suggests that the younger generation may not be able to write correctly in order to get interviews as their written language for emails and letters will be skewed by their text language. The ability to code-switch becomes important here as it is essential to be able to write in both casual English and formal English.