Georgia Monk
Evaluate the idea that the English language has been decaying over time and
continues to do so.
The idea that language is “decaying” is that of a negative one in that it suggests
deteriorating and breaking. People who may agree with this view could be described
as prescriptivists, who believe that language has been corrupted from its once
perfect state. This could relate to the theory put forward by Jean Aitchinson, a
descriptivist herself but who studies attitudes towards prescriptivism, the Crumbling
Castle view. This theory says that the English language was once at a state of
perfection but is slowly ‘crumbling’ and therefore must be preserved. However,
Aitchinson gave an opposing view that language is in a constant state of fluctuation,
so therefore change is not language “decaying”, but language adapting to fit the
needs of its users. The Functional theory reinforces this idea because it describes a
logical progression of language as it changes to fit the needs of its users. For
example, with the new introduction of technology, as new developments are made,
neologisms such as “television” and the compounded word “laptop”, must also be
made to accommodate them. Therefore, to say that English language is decaying is
wrong because the language is simply changing to reflect the needs of its users
(Reflectionism).
Another example of language change, which prescriptivists would view as ‘decay’,
but descriptivists would view positively, is English becoming a global language. There
are many reasons as to why English has become a global language, but it is little to do
with the number of speakers, and more to do with who the speakers are. For
example, Latin became an international language throughout the Roman Empire
because the Romans were most powerful. Therefore, perhaps English has become an
international language due to the political and military power of its people, or, as
David Crystal suggests, English was simply “in the right place and the right time”.
Nonetheless, the globalization of English has changed the English language
dramatically. When two languages come into contact through trade or similar,
changes to each language are bound to occur as they adopt a jargon of individual
words- this is known as the Substratum theory. Often the jargon may develop and
stabilise into pidgin English. However, if children hear this language and grow up with
it, then that becomes a Creole- as a first language. Consequently, many contact
languages are initially simplified, and any grammatical features may become
redundant. Prescriptivists, who want to promote Queen’s English as the ‘correct’
form of English, may view this as the English language decaying, or alternatively users
becoming lazy. However, most would argue that this is an inevitable change as
English becomes more powerful now that it is the language of international
communications.
Additionally, changes to the English language are mostly positive, and therefore
shouldn’t be tainted with this idea of ‘decay’. Semantic reclamation is when language
