Language: How it has changed
Language is a vital way to communicate your ideas and thoughts to others, however lately, due to the colossal number of English speaking citizens, many are yearning for the nostalgia of hearing their mother tongue. It has reached such a height that when the river of words finally flows out, they are beyond incomprehensible to those before us. One of the culprits for this calamity is English itself. As we know English is one of the fastest growing languages in the world and part of this is due to its historical significance in not only evolving languages today but also due to bloodlines it has erased. The partition sums up in two words the birth of nations out of chaos and despair. During this time period, amongst the discrimination and increasing death rates, many lost their homes to new cultures, religions and families. In fact, we can say the same is happening today. My parents often describe the feeling of urgency to teach us at least one of the 3 foreign languages they can speak fluently and despite our efforts the language that has always dominated our daily conversations has been English. And this is not true for just us but many children across the nation. I remember when I was in primary school, my friends and I decided to speak in Hindi to communicate in a ‘secret’ language, unfortunately this plan inevitably failed as my friend was unable to get past a simple greeting. Although minor, this experience shows the many pros of speaking another language, from communicating to others as mentioned previously to even being able to have a private language, perhaps why different languages were created in the first place. But, this then prompts the question, what if we lose these languages altogether?
The answer to this question is touched on in a study on the pain of language loss, where it mentions that there is stigma associated with the language spoken at home in society. “when they go to preschool they only continue with one. And why is that? Because suddenly there is only a focus on this one part of them and children soon sense that their other language is worthless.” This idea addresses the fact that subconsciously we are dismissing languages that were once important to us or our family. We can even go as far to say that English is being forced upon us. If you enter a school in Singapore, although you are now 11,000 km away from England you will find that the main language spoken is English. This is true for modern day advancements in technology e.g pilots must speak english and when concepts like this are questioned the answer is “Of course it has to be so. What language would you use instead?” To expand further, according to Cesar Chevel, “Language is a reflection of us.” The languages we speak reflect the person we are but what if everyone globally took up one language. Not only would it be a complete bore but it would also cause a lack of innovation. This is not to shame or belittle English as a language, instead it is to understand what the future of language holds. Experts say that by 2100 half of the current languages will be gone and though this may feel a lifetime away, it is concerning to think of the amount of languages we are losing everyday and along with them different cultures.
By Jannat Awais
