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Influence of art on a society
Importance Of Language Change
Art and its impact on society
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Our English language should come with a massive, luminous, advisory sign saying “under construction”. If we were to reminisce all the way back to 1450 AD, we would discover the nascent stages of our present day period of Modern English. However, when studying Shakespeare’s works, which come from the 1500’s, a translation of many of his lines is necessary for most ordinary people to comprehend all he is implying. Therefore, one can only imagine the vast amount of change that will occur to our language. I predict that within the next five centuries, we will have acquired a language desiring to be efficient, creating a less valued art of literature, and resulting in a decrease in the common vocabulary.
The highest rate of efficiency is strived for in all aspects of our current society. Our machines, human labor, learning, and businesses are continuously searching for that perfect formula that will result in one hundred percent efficiency. Therefore, what would happen if we could communicate with perfect effectiveness? What if every word we speak, portrays the precise meaning that we intend? Our conversations would be quicker and more productive if we used less filler words or expletives, elaborate descriptions, and redundant synonyms or phrases. In order to reach a language described previously, the articles “a” and “the” would be unnecessary. We would use only one of the multitudinous amount of synonyms for a single word, and when we explained an item or situation, we would describe it once and move on with the point of the story. A significant decrease in the use and incorporation of minutiae will be easily noted. Speaking in this way, using less energy to communicate the same idea and message, will result in shorter conversatio...
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...normally referred to happy, sad, and mad rather than auspicious, despondent, and irascible.
I could have bluntly written this essay in half the words and have gotten the same message across. Granted, I would not have displayed this information with as much emphasis and exaggeration. My arguments on the state of our language in five hundred years for striving for efficiency, devaluing art and literature, obtaining an artless vocabulary would have been less reinforced, but the gist would have been the same. Nonetheless, twice as many papers could have been graded in the same amount of time, students would have had extra time to spend on other tasks, and quite frankly, this class would be valued as more of a history class than one meant to expand one’s internal dictionary. However, in our current stage of language use, being verbose and magniloquent is valued greatly.
Since it’s been a predominant topic of our discussion, let us talk about the infamous English language. We can be sure that it has painstakingly progressed throughout generations of reevaluation and modernization, and has thus become what it is today. It has gone in several directions to try and mesh with the various epochs of language, from the Shakespearean era to the common English slang we use now, we can all agree that English is a language that has been transcending and will continue to transcend into many
Despite the warnings of Orwell through both his essay and dystopian novel, bad English is still used today, and could be argued to affect more English than it did during Orwell’s life. The consequences are also just as he predicted, those who control the language are able to wield control over the thoughts of others. The usage of poor quality English by media has he effect of making the recipients of news more detached from events and as a consequence, more self-focused. The clumsiness and foolishness imposed by bad English ultimately degrading thought, politics, culture, and society is what Orwell had foretold. This is the English tragedy that is disregarded, modern thoughts of “English” are not of language but of the English Queen.
The English language has been in constant transition throughout its history, but the most significant transformation in modern English can be credited to William Shakespeare. With Shakespeare’s invention of commonly used expressions, his creation of new words, and his use of iambic pentameter, he was able to affect the language in a way that no person since has. Shakespeare’s influence on modern English is not only visible in everyday speech, but also in the fact that his work has survived over four hundred years and it continues to be performed and read worldwide.
Throughout this essay, Orwell acts as a teacher and does not ridicule the writers. His writing is to inform the reader of the problem, the reasons why the language has become ugly, and the bad habits of writing. He used specific examples and goes on to give his solution to bring English writing and speaking back to a clear, concise, honest work.
Ask anyone who Shakespeare was, and he or she will immediately rattle off at least three different plays that were required readings in English, not to mention a few blockbuster movies bearing his name. Many revere the works of Shakespeare as paramount in the world of literature, dedicating entire books, classes and festivals to the study and celebration of his work. Although the ancient language is a common stumbling block for even the most seasoned readers, his varied tales of love, hate, fear, betrayal, laughter, defeat and victory are just as fitting today as they were four hundred years ago. He is amazingly timeless. Yet, while we might know what Shakespeare is, will we ever really know who Shakespeare was? Ah, there’s the rub!
The essay, “Politics and The English Language”, by George Howell, describes how lazy style and imprecise phrases have diminished modern English. According to Orwell, the English language has become “ugly” and our thoughts are now foolish. The inaccurate use of the English language makes our thoughts unclear. He stresses that we should use simple language rather than using long complicated phrases. Furthermore, this will allow the writer to portray his thoughts to be more clear and accurate.
how the English language has changed in the many years from then until now. The
In Johnson’s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson argues the importance of preserving language. Other dialects had a produced their own dictionaries, such as the French and Italians. Various writers of the eighteenth century were alarmed at the fact that there was no standard for the English language, since there was no standard it could easily become extinct. Johnson explored many points, such as how and why languages change as well as how many words are formed.
The impeccable style and craft of Shakespeare’s writing has always been looked upon with great respect, and it continues to serve as an inspiration to writers and thinkers today even as it did when it was being first performed in London. Shakespeare’s modern audience, however, is far less diverse than the one for which he originally wrote. Due to the antiquity of his language, Shakespeare’s modern readership consists mostly of students and intellectuals, whereas in Shakespeare’s own time, his plays were performed in playhouses packed with everyone from royalty to peasants. Because of this, Shakespeare was forced to write on many different levels, the most sophisticated of which appealed to his more elite audience members, while the more straightforward and often more crude of which appealed to his less educated viewers, and the most universal of which still appeals to us.
During the 16th century, developments in the arts, literature, medicine, science and renewed interest in classical languages, flooded the English language with new words. According to The British Library Board (2015), Cawdrey described that well-to-do gentleman decorated sentences with fancy phrases and complicated words from abroad. As a result, Cawdrey felt that by creating and publishing the ‘A Table Alphabeticall’, the English language would be better organised and help readers understand challenging
The Renaissance has been a diverse period and had people who held dear to the art and literature, which have developed over the period. Starting with literature, was well known and popular in forms of plays, which have been presented out to people in that era and even today. One of the writers that have been noticed and presented in different styles in our time is William Shakespeare. William was known for writing most of the popular plays in the 1600’s and for interpreting language which was known for being ‘Shakespearean Language’. These languages in his plays are used from the renaissance era and are more likely seen with in the other writer’s stories as well. Though William was not the only one, there are others before him that has studied
Mollin, S., 2006. “English as a Lingua Franca: A New Variety in the New Expanding Circle?”, The Nordic Journal of English Studies 5(2), pp. 41-57. Available from
113-117. 151-195. The. English: A Linguistic Tool Kit, (2012), (U214, Worlds of English, DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University. English in the World, (2012), (U214, Worlds of English, DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Standardization of the English Language There are several important events before 1500 that, when listed together, show a series of steps in the struggle for English language supremacy. These steps are mainly governmental, legal and official events that pushed English usage. In 1356 The Sheriff's Court in London and Middlesex were conducted in English for the first time. When Parliament opened in 1362 the Statute of Pleading was issued declaring English as a language of the courts as well as of Parliament, but it was not until 1413 that English became the official language of the courts everywhere. Thirteen years later in 1423, Parliament records start being written in English.
Over the years English inarguably has reached a status of a global language and commonly is characterized as a lingua franca. It has become the language that is spoken by millions of people all over the world; as the mother tongue, as the language used for international communication and as the language learned in the millions of schools.