Example answers of:
Evaluate the idea that changes in communication technologies have had a damaging effect on the English language
Text A and Text B are on the insert.
Text A is an extract from an online article about attitudes to accents. It was published by the
Canadian newspaper The Globe a...
Communication technologies can be defined as any devices which allow speakers to talk to
each other despite not being in the same physical context. The idea that changes in
communication technologies have had a damaging effect on the English language implies
that the invention of new devices and the communication that these devices facilitate leads
to language decay. Prescriptivists would support this claim since they believe that there is a
standard that the English language must be held to and divergence from such rules is
evidence of day whereas descriptivists would argue that changes in communication
technologies enrich our language since they expand our vocabulary and enable new forms
of grammatical and semantic language use which must be evidence of language evolution.
The English language is in a state of perpetual flux, meaning it adapts to suit the society that
needs and uses it, thus, this essay will argue to what extent do changes in communication
technologies have a damaging effect on the English language.
It could be argued that developments in technology and the invention of new devices has a
damaging effect on the English since it causes lexis to expand which descriptivists would
argue means English is less like its traditional archaic form. For example, Aitchison found
that a common belief held by prescriptivists was that the English language was in a state of
decay like a crumbling castle since its vocabulary was diverging from the traditional English
and this expansion only increased with coinages and neologisms for new communication
technologies. Although, a descriptivist would argue that there has never been a 'pure' state
of English since it has always been expanding due to interaction and the discovery of new
items which need a name. For example, Halliday argues that language functions to suit us
and hence it makes sense that archaic concrete nouns such as 'cassette' are no longer in
use given that cassettes are no longer in fashion whereas initialisms like 'PC' and 'USB'
have been coined to name new devices made. If these initialisms weren't coined then
English speakers would have great difficulty in making specific references to technology. In
addition, changes in communication technologies lead to broadening since 'mouse' now has
a wider meaning than just an animal since it also refers to the device used to click on
computers. Therefore, it could be argued that communication technologies determine the
language we use and allow society to evolve. This progressive change to suit the needs of
society is the nature of language change as Crystal argues that lexis move in and out of
fashion in a natural way like a tide that ebbs and flows. However, prescriptivists have tried to
control the influx of vocabulary into the English language such as Johnson in the 18th
century who wanted to bring control and order to the English language as he believed the
expansion of English was symbolic of decay. However, after 8 years he claimed that trying to
control a language is futile, just like trying to rope in a river which means that over 3
centuries later, with more innovation than ever before, trying to limit a language is impossible
and hence changes due to communication technologies are natural. Therefore changes in
communication technologies have enriched our language and allowed us to evolve.
Prescriptivists such as Lowth would argue that rules govern the English language but the
communication used via technologies breaks such rules and is hence evidence of language
decay. Lowth argues that rules govern our language and such rules include not splitting an
infinitive and not ending a sentence with a preposition but the truth is that online due to limits
on word counts on applications such as Twitter, traditional rules are being broken. However,
this cannot be evidence of language decay since Lowth's rules were based on Latin and
Latin and English are completely different languages and it is the flexibility of English that
allows it to survive whereas languages like Latin that don't adapt to speakers die. People do
, indeed used a nuanced form of communication online as Goodman and Fairclough found as
they argued that there is more informalisation online such as salutations such as 'hey' on
emails rather than the traditional 'dear..' which prescriptivists would argue is evidence of
decay since it means standards in society are falling. However, Fairclough argued that such
changes must be positive since it breaks down 'us vs them' barriers and is hence more
inclusive. This must be evidence of progression. In addition, Goodman noted that there is a
pattern of supercharged typographic icons online such as 'x' which can mean kisses or an
unspecified amount. Marie Clair, from the Plain English Society, would argue that this
change is damaging since it causes ambiguity in meaning however, Dueschner would argue
that this change is economical since a wide range of meanings can be conveyed through
one single letter which is effort saving and there is no chance of miscommunication since its
meaning will be implied given the context. Therefore, although prescriptivists believe that
communication technologies cause the standards of the English language to fall since rules
are being broken which may cause ambiguity, descriptivists argue that such change has
great advantages such as inclusivity and economical change which must be evidence of
progression in language and society. Thus, changes in communication technologies have
enhanced our language.
It could be argued that communication technologies have a damaging effect on the English
language since it means young people, who are renowned for using technology the most,
are getting lazy which Aitchison found is a common belief shared amongst prescriptivists.
They believe that language is becoming lazy just like dipping a damp spoon back into sugar
is. This could be due to abbreviations used on texts such as 'u' rather than 'you' and 'wot'
instead of 'what'. However, such clippings can actually allow people to form identities online
since Klerk found that many young people adapt their language and challenge linguistic
norms set out by their parents to form identities and be included in social groups online. In
addition, Crystal found that over 90% of language used in texts is standard and even the
10% that isn't standard could actually be considered to be improving literacy amongst young
people since it means they reflect on what is actually possible in language whilst retaining
meaning. For example, the phonetic spelling of 'what' as 'wot' allows young people to
understand that the phone 'a' and 'o' can be used symbiotically in some contexts. Therefore
changes in communication technologies which facilitate abbreviations improve
understanding of a language. However, Humphrys would argue that these young people are
vandals who are destroying our language. However, language change is not causing
damage since the English language has been evolving since the very start; inflictive suffixes
such as 'eth' are no longer used, so one cannot expect language to stay still. Therefore,
communication technologies allow language to progress in a natural way and can have great
benefits on literacy skills amongst young people.
It could be considered that communication technologies have a damaging effect on the
English language since they can cause struggles in meaning because Bollinger argued that
multimodal adverts online make use of expressive language to sell their products. For
example, euphemisms such as 'man made' and 'fun-sized' are used to sound positive when
in reality these refer to negative attributes such as 'artificial' and 'small' and hence
technology can facilitate confusion over meaning. This idea is a pattern amongst linguists
since Justman found that during World War 2, the expressive language used by the Nazis
via the radio made it easier for the rest of the world to ignore the horrors since 'final plan'
sounds positive but it actually referred to the extinction of all Jews. Therefore technologies
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