My brother and i are alike in that we both often have very strange dreams. A couple of months back, he dreamed that he was driving in Mexico with his best friend Jacob, when he got pulled over by the Mexican police. When asked if he was drunk, he replied with, "Of course not, sir. I dislike drunk drivers. I disapprove of drunk drivers. I discringe drunk drivers." Hearing this, the police simply let him go.
As he was driving away, however, Jacob turned to him and said, "Dude...discringe?" After reciting this story to me the next morning, he asked, "Amber...is discringe a word?" When i told him that it wasn't, he decided that from then on it would be, and ever since has been using it as part of his everyday vocabulary. After hearing him use this made-up word as if it were real for awhile, I realized that he was right. Discringe, although not a real part of the English vocabulary, ought to be a real word, as should many other expressions used in everyday vernacular. There simply aren't enough words to express the many varying and complex emotions we have.
Because of the fact that it would add to the creativity of our language, help students differentiate between proper and improper grammar styles, and let us express ourselves in ways that before were very difficult to achieve, the English language ought to be revised to accommodate the changing needs of our society.From "spanglish" to ebonics, the English language is constantly being manipulated into all sorts of different forms to best suit its purpose. This is part of what makes the American culture so unique. Our language comes from three basic sources: what was brought over from the mother country, England, during settlement a mix of different languages and cultures all brought together into what is called the "melting pot" of American society and lastly, experiences and social reforms brought about by the ever-changing needs of a growing country. The third reason, however, has largely been neglected by professors and bureaucrats alike as a viable source of new vocabulary. Although many terms that are commonly used in everyday speech are perfectly functional as well as able to express their intended purpose, they simply are not acknowledged as part of what is considered to be "proper" grammar.
For instance, the term "How are you doing?" has evolved into "How are you," then to "What's up," and finally the phrase commonly being used on the streets today, " ŒSup?
When I was in grade school and high school I was taught grammar everyday no matter what the subject. That is not the case anymore. Grammar is not taught like it used to. Teachers are avoiding the fact that they are not teaching grammar. They want children to write more about what they feel then write about facts.
Vajda, Edward. "Linguistics 201: The Dialects of American English." Linguistics 201: The Dialects of American English. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. .
1. In his chapter “On the Need of Some Grammar” found in Modern American Usage, Wilson Follett argues that we need grammar to govern our language.
From the time the Pilgrims landed in this great nation at Plymouth Rock, immigrants have been culturally diverse and have spoken many languages. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they did not know how to communicate with the natives. Through intense study the natives learned the Pilgrims’ language. Even with the common language they were still a melting pot of different culture. Some would say that America has gotten over the language/ cultural barriers and now almost everyone speaks the common language of English, but there are still many immigrants who do not know English. Bilingual education is put into public schools for this reason, so that immigrant children can be assimilated to English gradually. The national language should be English instead of the official language because America has prided herself in being very diverse. If we take away the diversity, then we take away the core values that America has always had since her founding.
In the essay “Bilingualism in America: English Should Be the Official Language” (1989) by Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa, he claims that if America wants to be a truly unified country, then there English needs to be set as the official language and wants every person including immigrants to speak it on a normal base. Hayakawa supports his claim by appealing to pathos in the description of how children who are not taught English from an early age will always be behind their peers, he discusses how countries such as Belgium and India have several official languages and how it is “a chaotic mess”, and explains how bilingual programs in California do more harm than good because they start the child off in their native language and never allow them to fully
English as the official language of the United States could benefit the U.S. Government and America as a whole. America has long since been a multicultural nation and has been an English speaking nation since it was founded. The constitutional and federal documents are all in English, which furthers the American people, believing English should be our official language. The majority of states already have English as their official language, for English has always provided a much needed cohesion to our diverse citizens since it was founded.
Currently in the United States, about one in four, or twenty-six percent, of American adults can speak a language other than English (McComb). To be bilingual means to possess the ability to speak two languages, and a society that implements a bilingual approach is one that adapts means of everyday life, ranging from street signs to education, to the inevitabilities of more than one language. The United States is in debate on whether or not to adopt Spanish in conjunction with all English communication. In my opinion, to assume a bilingual society would create a separation in our country with two competing languages. There are multiple perspectives on the issue and to accurately form an opinion requires consideration of numerous aspects. The decision to undertake Spanish alongside English in all facets in the United States should be constructed on bilingual history, statistics, legal implications, supportive and defensive arguments, education dynamics, cultural factors, and the necessary provisions to our current society needed to implement such a system.
When you come to the United States, you don’t think about the experience that you will face in here. The most important thing people don’t think about is the language, totally different from yours, like Spanish, how you are going to use it, when, at what specifically moment, how long is going take you to learn it, spoke the language, to write in English, what about people who go to school. The English is one of the most difficult things in the United State when you come to this country, because with the language you work, study and get prepare for a better future in here. I agree with this because, one of them is me. I have faced three experienced with the language here on this country, and them three in the school that I have attempt to. The three schools are in Veterans Memorial School, Woodrow Wilson High School and Camden Academy Charter High School.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (Lazarus). Lady liberty stands towering and majestic with an inscription of Emma Lazarus’ poem, The New Colossus. The “huddled masses yearning to breathe” refers to the dark slums and ghettos that were once found in Europe, and beckons those people to America where they may breathe and be free. Lady Liberty cries out to the homeless and those who couldn’t afford first class and endured a rough journey to America (tempest-tost). The light is always on to welcome refugees day or night as Lady Liberty lifts her lamp beside the golden door. America has been built upon immigration and open arms since July 4, 1776. English should not be declared the official language of the United States in order to let diversity and the Right of Individualism flourish along with the continuation of America’s core ideas of encompassing multilingualism.
The United States is made up of many different ethic groups. These groups vary from Latinos, Asian American, African American, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and etc. These ethnic groups come into America speaking many different languages. However, many people are still surprised to learn that the United States has no official language. Many assume that English is the official language of the United States. But despite efforts over the years, the United States has no official language. Because the United States has no official language, it is suffering with large costs. These large costs will lead us on a road to wasteful government expenses, language battles that fuel ethnic resentment, and in the long run serious ethnic and linguistic separatist movements. An official English legislation is the answer to the problem.
To what degree do the words you use define the person you are? This is a central question in the hotly debated issue of making English the official language of the United States. If English did become the official language, the rights of people who do not speak English would be violated and the nation would be further segregated. Just as schools were segregated in our past, this again would show that segregation equals discrimination. People must understand that every citizen deserves the right to celebrate their diversity. The government need not interfere with the words that come out of people's mouths. In a country torn by prejudice and segregation, the official language should serve as a reminder that America is as diverse population where differences are embraced, not ignored.
Culture is a part of everyone's life, whether we choose to express it in our everyday lives or to just be aware of its presence. A major part of one's culture is a defining language. The topic of assimilation versus multiculturalism directly relates to culture in America, and even more specifically to the power of language in American culture. Since language is the basis of communication I think that all immigrants must assimilate to a certain degree by speaking English, while preserving their heritage if they choose to do so.
Languages are continually changing and developing, and these changes occur in many different ways and for a variety of reasons. Language change is detectable to some extent in all languages, and ‘similar paths of change’ can be recognised in numerous unrelated languages (Bybee, 2015, p. 139). Since users of language all over the world have ‘the same mental processes’ and ‘use communication for the same or very similar ends’ (Bybee, 2015, p. 1), similar changes occur on the same linguistic aspects, and in many cases these changes produce similar results in multiple languages. However, language change is limited by the function it performs. Languages must be learnt to such an extent which allows communication between the generation above and below one’s own (McMahon, 1994, p. 5). Hence language change is a gradual, lethargic process, as only small changes in
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.
Have you ever wondered where the names of the different items you use daily came from? Or listened to people talk and find a particular word interesting or odd and wonder why it has become part of our English language? The English language that we speak today has developed as a result of many different influences and changes over thousands of years. The resulting changes to the English language can be split into three time periods that include, Old English or Anglo-Saxon, Middle English and Modern English which is commonly used today