Did americans kill english? Or did the brits fail to evolve their own? The article is a lot of hand wringing over 'American' becoming the worlds default 'English' without much attention to why. It is global communication, and americans do a whole lot more of it (in the last century).
Very interesting article, one rhetorical question popped up for me: So - who gets to 'own' English?
By the numbers of speakers, it would be the Chinese
By cultural popularity (in the west), it would be the Americans
By originality/creators, it would be the English
I personally lean towards the English owning it since it's the __ENGLISH__ language. Even as an American it is not a great feeling to see the original language modified so flippantly. I guess I'd prefer to be speaking the "American flavor of English" and have true Standard English be defined by the UK.
I get that languages change over time and the true owners of a language are the speakers, diluted times the number of speakers of that language, but still it's something I like to think about.
2 comments
[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 13.3 ms ] threadBy the numbers of speakers, it would be the Chinese
By cultural popularity (in the west), it would be the Americans
By originality/creators, it would be the English
I personally lean towards the English owning it since it's the __ENGLISH__ language. Even as an American it is not a great feeling to see the original language modified so flippantly. I guess I'd prefer to be speaking the "American flavor of English" and have true Standard English be defined by the UK.
I get that languages change over time and the true owners of a language are the speakers, diluted times the number of speakers of that language, but still it's something I like to think about.