[PLUG-TALK] Linguistics and the steamroller of English adoption

[John Jason Jordan]

On Tue, 27 Apr 2021 23:06:07 -0700
Russell Senior <russell at personaltelco.net> dijo:

>One of the chapters (Chapter 19: "Language is a Virus") talks about how
>English is progressively taking over the world as a common language and
>the reasons behind that. The language barriers were an ongoing problem
>for anglophones, particularly as they deployed around the globe during
>and after World War 2. Apparently there were a few suggested solutions,
>one of which was called Basic English[1], which consisted of 850 words,
>only 18 of which were verbs. All the words and rules, with some usage
>examples could fit on a single sheet of paper.

Basic English has been replaced by 'World English(es),' which is not
as completely and formally simplified. There is a course in it at PSU,
taught to speakers of ordinary English. It is not taught specifically
to speakers of other languages. It's sort of what happens when a
foreigner learns English, whether in a school or by immersion. Let me
give you an example.

English phonology is very complex, plus some of the sounds are
difficult if you're no longer a child. So speakers of World English
pronounce it with sounds that are more common among the world's
languages, yet which native speakers can still understand.

The most difficult part of English is the lexicon, which is composed
not just of words, but tens of thousands of fixed expressions
(collocations). All languages have these, but English has them in
spades. ('In spades' is an example of such a collocation.) Speakers of
World English don't use many such collocations, making them sound
somewhat formal.

One of the biggest problems for foreigners is phrasal verbs, where we
stick a preposition or adverb (called a verb particle) after the verb's
complement, instead of right after the verb where it belongs. The
particle changes the meaning of the verb, and some verbs can take more
than one particle. Phrasal verbs are massively complex, so much so that
they have never been thoroughly analyzed by linguists. But for speakers
of other languages there is almost always a way out. English phrasal
verbs developed when we were still speaking Anglo-Saxon, before the
onslaught of French and Latin borrowings, and today there are almost no
phrasal verbs of latinate origin; indeed, for every phrasal verb there
is almost always a non-phrasal latinate verb that can be used instead.
And guess which verb a World English speaker will choose.

Today it is common for a merchant in Vietnam to speak on the phone with
a potential buyer in Japan, where neither speaks the other's language,
and they fall back on English, the only language they have in common.
As you note, English has ended up being the default world lingua
franca, but there are a few issues that native speakers must be aware
of:

1) This situation is ultimately going to create a new English, one that
is a blend of World Englishes and existing native Englishes. There are
linguists who study this process.

2) Never, ever belittle someone's English. This is not only rude, but
the most effective way to ensure that some other language takes over
the position of English in the world. Similarly, when in a non-English
speaking area try your best to use the local language, even if you
don't know a word of it. People will smile and try to help, and you'll
make a friend. The key is respect.