English is a global language, which dictates the various aspects of the world such as culture, diplomacy and tourism. It is the official language in 63 countries with 2017 statistics record showing that English is spoken everywhere throughout the world by very nearly 1 Billion individuals, 600 Million of which are non-native speakers, or second language, speakers (Favilla, 2019). Today English functions as a lingua franca employed as a method of correspondence between speakers of different national origins. Additionally, due to its popularity as 'the dominant business language', being coherent in English increases one's job's opportunities in a multinational company both within a home country or abroad (Crystal, 2019). Moreover, to be fruitful and to contend in a global marketplace, instant communication in English is a need in the present day. This essay aims to discuss how technological developments have changed and continue to change the English language by examining the invention of the printing press in 1439, the influence of social media on English, the introduction of mobile phones, emails as well as instant text messaging and the launch of search engines and online encyclopedias.
Over time technological advancements have revolutionized how we read, write, and communicate in ways no one could have predicted. Linguists and lexicographers acknowledge that technology is by a wide margin the most significant force modifying the English language to date (Albaugh 1997). It is therefore believed, by the younger generation, most notably that languages that do not experience change are 'dead' languages. Hence since English evolves regularly, it proves to be both 'alive and active' (Crystal, 2006). Gradually it has grown from the use of 'Old English,' to 'Middle English,' 'Early Modern English,' to present day 'Modern English'. In ancient times, several civilizations inclusive of England, Egypt and China had an organized postal system to deliver messages to different regions of their empires employing horses or carrier pigeon. Later on, the 15th century welcomed the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439, of which William Caxton introduced to England in 1476 (Williams, 2015). Before the printing press, all writings were scribed painstakingly by hand and concepts were lost and rediscovered at different times and places. Initially, the upper-class preference for the delicate calligraphy and vocabulary in hand-inked books, which to them was a representation of grandeur, made mass-produced books seem cheap and only acceptable for the lower and middle classes (Angel and →, 2019). Soon, however, printed material became the primary method of spreading information, thus supporting the distribution of scholarly ideas for academics and intellectuals to benefit. Through the printing press, writing became a broadcast medium for authors and scholars to form new expressions and publish their work on a large scale, therefore, increasing the availability of books and literature.
Within the European civilization, this generated a growing literate general public since widely accessible for the first time were Greek texts and Latin translations by philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. Its invention also played a principal role in Latin's demise as 'the lingua franca of the educated' during the Renaissance era as nations sought a universal language of communication thus encouraging the standardization of the English language, it's grammar and spelling (Burkeman, 2009). Linguist Benedict Anderson discussed, 'it is this decline that prompted the rise of the vernacular and nationalism' which eventually lead to the formation of the framework of political relationships between sovereign states (Murray, 2014). Furthermore, through the emergence of newspapers in the 1500s, communities became linked by similar interests, and as long as English spread, the need to learn to read and write, it became a new necessity. Sequentially people were gradually acquiring sufficient vocabulary and knowledge, which enabled them to question past concepts and develop new ways of expressing their thoughts. Provoked by the increasing literacy of the middle class, this set in motion the growth of a public that 'desired to read and develop their views through the expression of language' (Williams, 2015). Entwined in this new intellectual foundation were scientists in the 1600s, which were working on the similar queries in distant locations but were now equipped to print the solutions of their work in order to share and compare with their colleagues accurately (Williams, 2015). With its global reach, the effect of social media through the development of the Internet has changed correspondence, where individuals can communicate on a worldwide scale as often as possible. There have been a few adjustments in the manner where individuals compose and communicate in English in light of the likely change in correspondence via web-based social media platforms.
Nowadays, the vast online audience of social media continuously connotes different word and symbol arrangments to represent 'Modern day English'. From the instigation of new words to new meanings for old words, social media is making adjustments at a fast pace (Crystal, 2006). Crystal (2006) recognized that 'user-generated content' of social media was becoming 'increasingly altered through platforms like mySpace, Twitter and Facebook'. The 'dumbing down' of English in this medium will always have positive and negative opinions, but without it, we would not have the version of English spoken today. A case of this adjustment in regular use is the presentation of words and abbreviations. For example, 'selfie,' 'images,' 'unfriend' and 'LOL' (laugh out loud), 'OMG' (Oh my God), 'TTYL' (talk to you later) are examples of today's shorthand which as simplified methods of expression prioritize to a lesser extent the use of the language itself and instead focus on getting the message across faster and with less effort in both verbal and written everyday discussions. 'Selfie' which was at first utilized in 2002, in an Australian Internet discussion was picked up notoriety in 2013 and was later drafted into the Oxford lexicon as their Word of the Year (Favilla, 2019). 'Un-friend' however, is a term to describe the act of removing another user from your list of friends on either Facebook. Other than the introduction of words and abbreviations, there is a new perception that even without a physical presence, the tone of a writer can be detected by their use of the 'CAPS' button on a computer keyboard. To further explain this revelation; it is believed that words typed in the upper case represent shouting, or anger while lower case writing is the accepted form for normal speech. English being the most dominant language on the planet accompanies an expanding interest for fast correspondence, where people more often than not send messages to each other without utilising appropriate English.
The choice of vocabulary is the most significant result of practical life on English where specific words, which had obvious implications, presently bear various definitions relying upon the setting of the application. This has affected English verbal correspondence as the English language has turned out to be increasingly unstable with similar words developing each day, where Internet slangs are acknowledged as English words. For instance, 'wall' which used to mean a structure that encases or partitions a region of land currently alludes to Internet profiles where individuals in a social media site share and express their thoughts or feelings. Another word is 'troll' who used to mean a revolting, dastardly beast currently speaks of a person who deliberately incites others for excitement on the Internet (Burkeman, 2009). Moreover, there have been a few utilizations of slang, which have deceived people into utilizing incorrect spelling and grammar. The utilization of slang has spread so much that a few words have moved toward becoming English, in this manner, diminishing language abilities because of contractions and incorrectly spelt words, and shortened forms. Additionally, the use emoticons, i.e. 'emojis', are now being used to express how a user is feeling without actually having to write it. Some may say this dilution of the English language is lazy, but in its defense, 'social media is not a creative writing process' (Reed, 2019). Because of this upcoming change, web-based social networking correspondence is reasonable among youngsters; be that as it may, older people at times battle understanding it on account of its practical nature. Besides, abbreviations and inappropriate language seem to have made English more straightforward, yet the capacity to communicate deep thoughts is disintegrated.
The later introduction of mobile phones, emails and instant text messaging has also made a profound impression on the English language. When the first cell phone was created in 1956, it lacked mobility but overtime, phones have shrunk in size and became more portable therefore enabling consistent usage. Even though the language used to communicate 'online' tends to be more malleable in comparison to formal writing. Its reduced likelihood of interception and speedy delivery remains unrivalled (Reed, 2019). The words that surround us daily now influence the words we use more often. Since a majority of written language is now available on the screens of our computers, smartphones or tablets, the English language now evolves depending on our interaction with technology; to accommodate this various 'online' abbreviations have been devised. While even the older generation has accepted to adapt to the use of mobile phones and emails, a small minority still implement the language in its older state (Walters, 2015). It can be reasoned that they simply use these devices because it enables them to maintain contact with others.
On the other hand, today's younger generation remains focused on being up-to-date with the changing trends of vocabulary used in 'Telecommunication'. In support of the impact of Telecommunication, it can be evidenced that these days, a vast majority of people prefer text messaging instead of physically speaking. This innovation has made it possible and therefore easier to avoid unwanted interaction with other people. Even still, one of the more irritating events nowadays is waiting on an unanswered phone call, which would later be reconciled within just a few minutes via a simple text message. Through this minor observation of society's need for urgent communication, 'are people unbothered or do they just forget how to use modern language in their daily lives? Unfortunately, it would seem to be the case but as consumers, we are responsible for letting technology to replace spoken word and IMO (a popular online abbreviation for 'in my opinion') is not always the best thing. In the 1990s, as e-mails became more frequently used, marketers observed an opportunity to begin advertising to both local businesses and international consumers. On a business front, as companies 'went global' from whichever country they are originally based, it became a major necessity to tackle any language barriers that they could potentially encounter overseas with employees and consumers (Angel and →, 2019). Moreover, dabbed 'the dominant language of business and the Internet', global organizations often chose English as their common communication language even though there are more Chinese speakers in the world (Miraj, 2011).
This was primarily due to its universal popularity, which in effect has bridged the international gap between both native and non-native English speaking companies. Undoubtedly even through the emailing system, the English language has been exposed to cultural diversity which through interactions like these, have also contributed to the shaping of the various subtypes of the English language. However, the effortlessness of using emails and instant messaging has consequentially reduced the importance of formality and often results in unprofessional communications online (Walters, 2015). This aforementioned effortlessness repeatedly causes a decline in the accuracy of information being relayed between users since as an increasingly informal forum, users usually respond to messages immediately without actually reviewing the content being sent/exchanged. Additionally, to the pressure placed on employees to provide customers and/or colleagues with immediate responses, there is an increased risk of misconception and misinterpretation due to incorrect information exchanges which can sometimes prove difficult to correct because of the swift distribution of emails to the other parties involved.
An example of this trend would be the informal, casual text message exchange between aspiring authors or entrepreneurs of today who want to pitch an idea for a book or business deal respectively to bigger organizations (Reed, 2019). Unlike before, where a majority of business-related ideas were always presented as hard-copy letters that were appropriately addressed, envelope stamped and postal delivered, many organizations now recognize the convenience of swift electronic communication while simultaneously trying to promote the conservation of trees (Walters, 2015). The new varieties of technology have 'reconstructed' society's means of communication in what seems like overnight. In consideration of the various factors discussed, it is clear that since its 'birth', technology's presence has always had an impact on the English language. Once communication was structured around personal hand-written letters, while now there are text messages and emails to serve the same purpose in a quick and unmatched time-frame, some may say that they do miss the personal touch and effort from the 'good old days' and others may leap towards the convenience of simply clicking the 'send' icon on a message.
Moreover, regardless of the type of individual one would categorize them to be, whether it is 'old-fashioned or up-to-date', we cannot avoid the reality that technology has modified spoken and written English forever (Murray, 2014). Finally, seeing as this era has also sustained lesser importance for grammatical correctness within sentence structure, the English language is bound to experience many more modifications resultant of various factors, but technological advancements still prove to be the more dominant force. In a BBC News interview (2019), Crystal rightfully quoted author Grigor Baghdasaryan in saying; 'any living language gradually evolves, which is quite inevitable in this highly developed technological era'. He added, 'language itself changes slowly, but the Internet has sped up the process'. That is to say; as a parallel correlation in which technological developments play a pivotal role in manipulating language, the change will always be due where the global currency of knowledge is the expanding evolution of available information.
The 21st-century launch of search engines and online encyclopedias have too embedded themselves into the determination of the 'correct' use of grammar and vocabulary for the proper sentence structure of Modern day English.' To Google' has now become a universally known verb and as many countries continue to develop their version of slang, the internet must, therefore, be able to keep up with the variation of national tongues (BBC News, 2019). Language systems like 'Google Translate' have made it easier to translate and apply different languages without previously learning them in classrooms. The practical benefits of ‘Google Translate’ and similar software applications are undeniable, but some literature enthusiasts like Douglas Hofstadter feel that 'there is still a deep misunderstanding in the approach being conveyed by machine translation' (Hofstadter, 2019). The drawback of software translations is that it sometimes does not correctly comprehend the context and therefore, the grammatically correct structure that a sentence need is not attained. An example of grammatical, cultural differentiation is where in Modern British English one would say in present continuum, 'I know what you said', in comparison to an 'Indian-English' speaker would be expressed as 'I am knowing what you said'. This software flaw presents an accuracy issue for self-taught language learners who may not realize that 'Google Translate' has misunderstood the context of the sentence that they are attempting to formulate. Hofstadter (2019) stressed that machine translation has never prioritized the real understanding of language. Instead, he feels that its approach is to attempt to 'decode' the message without actually considering its real meaning. Here Hofstadter questioned whether 'it could be that the true understanding of the English language is no longer necessary in order to translate properly.