Ask Hn: Is The English Language Evolving?

1 points by keltecp11 ↗ HN
With text messaging dominating younger generations... is the English language changing? Similar to what happened with 'Old English' writing, will language of today evolve as well?

4 comments

[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 24.1 ms ] thread
Of course it's evolving; it's always evolving. Read a 100-year-old newspaper and observe the differences. You cannot stop it from evolving.
So how should teachers teach English in the classrooms or teach kids how to type?
Words evolve rapidly; grammar more slowly (but surely). The truly fundamental thing change most slowly of all, so emphasize those. Don't get hung up on things like "hopefully". Help kids expand their vocabularies. Encourage them to read. Teach them the difference between formal and informal language, as it's crucial and something that many never learn.