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Clint Knudsen
Mrs. Funk
Inquiry Skills B.12
17
th
April 2014
The Evolution and Importance of the English Language
Why does it seem like every single country in the world have English taught in schools?
Well its because English is one of, if not the most important language on the planet. English is a
Germanic language that is susceptible to change, and has global importance due to its spread.
That will be gone over in greater detail in a moment. The English language has arisen from
Germanic languages, but has taken a lot from other languages throughout its history, and is still
changing today and affecting the global marketplace for better or for worse.
Origins and History
The English language is a Germanic language, and thus came mostly from them. English
is actually the result of a mesh of different languages. According to Alastair Kane, who has also
researched this topic, claims that by as early as 1000
AD
these other languages included those
from the Vikings, Celtics, Anglo- Saxons, and Romans (English Evolution Over The Last
Millennium). The Romans had gotten in their influence through other people. Another man
George Boree- who has researched the English language shows us the mixing of the languages
from these different people. The people mentioned before (minus the Romans) had all taken
control of different parts of what is now the UK. As the people had to share an island with many
different languages, a more uniform language began to emerge amongst all of them (Language
Change and Evolution).
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Over the course of the history of the English language, there have been three main
periods. These are Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Today we speak modern
English, which is also what was spoken around the time William Shakespeare was writing plays.
However, the period that was probably the most important was Middle English. Historically, this
age has great significance because of the Great Vowel Shift, as stated by Boree, who you
remember from earlier. The Great Vowel Shift was literally a shift. It was the change in
pronunciation of vowels by shifting the the tongue to a higher position in the mouth (the
Evolution of English). This is one of the reasons why the English language is so distinct from
other languages.
As Britain expanded its territories and made new colonies, it spread its culture. This of
course, includes the language. The spread of English had some adverse effects that will be
discussed later, but how these effects could have come about will be discussed in the next
section.
Change and Preventions
Languages can change for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest causes for the
change of a language is the interactions between different cultures. Edward Sapir, author of
Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech, notes in chapter nine that one of the
simplest ways a language grows is the borrowing of words. Take for example, the Roman word
strata. When this was introduced to other cultures, it was adopted into the languages. This gave
English the word street. This type of influence is not particular only to English, however. The
same base strata was transmitted to other languages as well, like German, giving it the word
Strasse (Language: An Introduction). So long as words are absent in languages and exist in
others, this type of change can occur.
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The expansion of a country with one language can also affect the changing of that
language. With expansion, you see that the language reaches more places, and thus more places
have a chance to influence the language. Also, when expansion happens, the language could
possibly change itself in that specific area, creating a new branch of the root language altogether,
or a dialect.
While these factors can influence the change of a language, there are also some that can
prevent it. Edward Sapir again notes that some languages, simply because of their natures, are
more susceptible to change than others. Sapir also gives the example of English and French
influences on eachother. While the French language has exerted a great influence on English
such that we use some of it probably without realizing it (ex. RSVP), English has had virtually
no influence on French (Language: An Introduction to). In view of all languages, this could
be true for any reason. One of those reasons could even be for a language to keep its purity.
Yes, this has occurred. It was the effort of some people to keep their language from being
changes by the dinosaur that is English (Shea, Klingon as a second language). Since the
main reason languages change is through cultural interaction, isolation could also prevent
change. Or at least, slow it down to a snails pace.
Global Englishes
When talking about English, one must be specific. All around the world there are many
different kinds of English, some of which can be very difficult to understand even to a natural
English speaker. The differences could be very minor, such as a slight difference in the accent
spoken, or they could be very extreme. I know you are probably familiar with the phrase
Spanglish or possibly Changlish, and these are obviously examples of languages that have
formed hybrids with English, as Nancy Herther puts it (The changing language of search).
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This is clearly the result of multiple languages being in the same place, most likely English
somewhere off on another part of the globe. In places where English is the national language,
even, there are noticeable differences. In fact, there are sixteen distinct variations of the English
language in these countries (Gilsdorf, Standard Englishes and). That isnt even mentioning
the countries where English is mainly a second language.
But in those where it is, the people of course dont know the language enough to actually
use it correctly. So what do they do? Well, in the words of Patrick Tucker, As English spreads,
individual communities will adapt and alter it to serve their own communication needs--to
describe objects, events, and ideas that are mundane to them but not easily translatable into
English. (The rapid evolution of English). This leads us to the eventual misuse of the
language, or improper English, as is said by Gilsdorf again (Standard Englishes and).
Also, with the growing number of people using English as a second language, the ones who are
natural speakers of English might eventually be outnumbered (Herther, The changing language
of search). If this does indeed happen, the very definition of English might not even have an
exact definition.
Effects of Global Englishes
English, being the number one base communication globally, would naturally have many
uses from a world perspective. For example, it is the official language for aviation. It has also
gone beyond that- it has been sent into space on placards mounted to the outside of some
spacecraft. If that is not enough to show the importance of English, then take a look at the school
system of other nations. If you look closely at the curriculum, you notice how English is taught
in the world language portion of the school day. Some schools, such as those in IB, only teach
their material in English. Clearly, it has an impact on the world.
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English has the most impact on the global marketplace. For almost everybody who is a
part of said marketplace, English is a necessary tool for a means of communication with
everybody else working on it. Even if the English spoken is butchered to pieces, it provides a
common ground to make trade. This is true also for interactions where neither party speaks
English as a first language (Tucker, The rapid evolution of English) Looking at one aspect
of the global marketplace specifically, the entertainment section. The U.S. is one of the biggest
exporters of entertainment for the entire world, so of course everything it makes is in English. In
the case where whatever was made is not originally in English, an English version will be made
or English subtitles will be an option, because we also buy much of what other countries and
nations produce.
Conclusion
Throughout the history of English, it has morphed, spread, and gained importance on a
global scale for world trade. The English language, although coming originally from Germanic
languages, has absorbed several things from other languages and has become the language of
global communication, allowing it to dominate the global marketplace. Looking forward, English
is likely to become the dominant language of the world, spoken by everyone. But it may not be
the language you know today.






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"Interaction Is Critical for the Evolution of the Language." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 05 July 2011. Web.
03 Apr. 2014