Did you know that…
- English has the fourth highest number of native speakers in the world!
- Only 2% of the UK population speak like the Queen (received pronunciation)
- ‘Twerk’ and ‘Fleek’ are in the English dictionary
How cute are the minions?
How many times have you watched their movie or heard their songs being played?
Whether you like them or not, the minions have ‘taken over the world’ with a language which they have constructed! The term for a constructed language for artistic purposes is ‘glossopoeia’.
The minions have created a new fictional language which everyone is catching on to… so is this the future of the English language? Are we going to turn into minions?
Fear not. For many centuries linguists feared that the English dialect was going to deteriorate, however, this has not been the case. Studies point that due to globalisation and technology, American English is seen as the more dominate form of English through computer software changing the spelling of words like ‘color’ and ‘favorites’. Technology has established American English as a global standard. People living in less economically developed countries gain access to TV and have more exposure to American English, thus, they will be more likely to use it due to the global presence of American media.
Although your parents will think that you too have created glossopoeia, because you use words in your sentences which they have never heard of before such as; ‘peng’ or ‘buff’, it does not necessarily mean that you have caused the destruction of the English dialect. Research points to the electronic era for changing the attitudes in which people use language. Texting has changed the way people use language, for instance; ‘omw’ is typed because it is a much quicker acronym for saying ‘I am on my way’ or sometimes it is just better to reply with an emoji because it is easier.
Depending on the context and the purpose of the conversation, people switch from one dialect to another; this is called bidialectism. Take for example, that cousin you have abroad who uses a regional form of English when speaking locally but uses a more standard English when talking to his customers formally. Therefore, the English language is becoming more diverse and the attitude to language is changing through the development of technology.
So unfortunately for us, we won’t be turning into minions and the English dialect is here to stay…for now.
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