My Paradoxes Concerning The Future of English

I just finished reading Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue: English And How It Got That Way. It was a fun read, even though I had to set it down for a while to finish some projects before the year's end. Bryson is very entertaining and the book shows a lot of research. Perhaps his most insightful chapter however is the very last: "The Future of English." He discusses the perceptions of English speakers on that topic--particularly Americans. He gives people's reasoning behind their thinking and finally ends with his own thoughts and reasoning.

I admit I have been one to voice the necessity for immigrants to learn English and how we should really just make it mandatory and how unfair it is that any other nation would not conceive of bending over backwards to accommodate an immigrant who doesn't learn the native language of that place, etc, etc. And at the same time I have often thought how cool it is we don't actually have a specified official language; how free that makes us! We bend and twist, because we can. We are able to change as necessary (theoretically).

I have also thought about how sad it makes me that English--particularly American English--seems to be taking over the world. Dialects are disappearing and British and American English are moving closer and closer toward one another. All too soon there won't be anyone who uses Mexican relish anymore; we'll all just use salsa. How piteous will be the world then! It is rare that the grandchild of immigrants from any culture to America are fluent in their ancestral language. My mother is the granddaughter of immigrants, and I have often felt a slight pang of resentfulness towards my ancestors for not speaking strictly in Lithuanian at home so I could know it now. It is a portion of my ancestry that is lost to me and not likely to be regained. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, which is exactly what regulating foreign languages in the United States would do. There are who groups of people who push for this very thing, arguing that it would decrease the differences between cultures. Bryson's counter-argument is sublime: "It is interesting to speculate also whether the member of U.S. English would be so enthusiastic about language regulations if they were transferred to Quebec and found their own language effectively outlawed." He also points out that the countries with the biggest problems between immigrants and the natives are those that strive to suppress qualities of the immigrating culture (240)--and it's easy to see that language is by far the most significant cultural quality.

See, I love English. That's what it really comes down to. I love all dialects of English, and the most correct, precise, academic forms as well. I love all types of English literature and the sound of it when it's read out loud. So to think that English might one day be disposed of frightens me just in the same way it does to think it would dispose of other languages. But after reading Bryson's book I realize that thinking English is going the way of Latin must be an irrational phobia. (In fact, I'm sure it is, and it kind of embarrasses me to think that it took reading a book for me to actually realize that fact. That's how obvious it is.) As Bryson says in his last two sentences, "If we should be worrying about anything to do with the future of English, it should be not that the various strands will drift apart but that they will grow indistinguishable. And what a sad, sad loss that would be" (245).

Think on This

I thought this was a very interesting post by my cousin, Ave, addressing her own apprehensions about a possible explanation for why she feels the way she does about Obama. But even more important are the last two paragraphs which address how people in this country act towards the man in the white house--whoever it is.

I agree with Ave that we as a nation do a poor job of giving enough respect to whoever holds the position of president. I disagree with politics regularly--that's bound to happen. I've heard some pretty ridiculous ideas coming from the person in charge for years, and nothing is new now. I've also heard some good ones for years, even from people I didn't particularly like. But to paint the leader of our country as some kind of ignoramus or outright wicked being is a horrible thing to do. It is a position I doubt a quarter of the people in this country would be capable of, and so we are left with those who are at least willing to do it. That willingness to take on such an enormous task deserves our respect.

Conservatives, take a breath... it's really not the end of the world

I was not able to watch the inauguration this morning seeing as I was in class. However, I have been reading posts on it and an interesting article in our school newspaper. Get this: there's a kid here on campus that, after the outcome of Nov. 4th reached his ears, he logged onto Facebook and deleted friends who had status' supporting Barack Obama, and said in an interview with the paper that he "does not regret it." Please. If your friendships are based on things as constantly shifting as politics, your "friends" are probably relieved you deleted them!

It is important to remember that it is not the president who makes laws. The president really only has as much power as we give him. It is Congress we have to keep and eye on and appeal to. It is Congress that drafts, redrafts, and votes on our laws. Of course, we focus on the president because it's much easier (and usually more interesting) to adore/blame/generally obsess over one polititian than it is a whole flock of them.

Try also to remember that we have not, as a country, sold our soul to the devil, nor have we set ourselves up to become the Great Abomination. A country based on democracy is only as good as it's people. Although I did not vote for Obama, I think he will make as good a president as any other candidate, if not better. It's past the time of campaigning for our favorites. Now is the time to come together to support our country and try not to let the man leading it get killed.