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2008-07-08 -Short Attention Span Theater-
How English Is Evolving Into a Language We May Not Even Understand
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Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-07-08 10:23|| || Front Page|| [11135 views ]  Top

#1 Already, most conversations in English are between nonnative speakers who use it as a lingua franca.

Except in the United States, where the NEA and other education 'professional' still push bi-lingual indoctrination.

However, thanks to Hollyweird movies and television and whole sell black marketing of pirated DVD and the like, the American form of English is likely to remain generally consistent. Outside those bi-lingual encumbered students.
Posted by Procopius2k 2008-07-08 14:12||   2008-07-08 14:12|| Front Page Top

#2 I don't have a problem with this and besides its an old problem. English always has had variants. Irish speaking english with gaelic grammar and constructs, ditto Indians, malays and Singaporeans, and even I have trouble decyphering the pidgin english spoken in the south pacific.

In fact, less than a hundred years ago, people from different parts of Britain had trouble communicating because of differences in their english.
Posted by phil_b 2008-07-08 15:13||   2008-07-08 15:13|| Front Page Top

#3 An estimated 300 million Chinese -- roughly equivalent to the total US population -- read and write English but don't get enough quality spoken practice. The likely consequence of all this? In the future, more and more spoken English will sound increasingly like Chinese.

That's moronic. These people get English language instruction. That doesn't mean they speak English, any more than Americans who get far superior high school Spanish instruction speak or read Spanish. It becomes just another useless course they take in school, alongside geography, history and political indoctrination.
Posted by Zhang Fei 2008-07-08 15:42|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com]  2008-07-08 15:42|| Front Page Top

#4 In the postwar period, all Koreans and Japanese have gotten English language instruction, all the way to college. That's roughly 120m people right there. How many speakers of English have you encountered among Koreans and Japanese?
Posted by Zhang Fei 2008-07-08 15:44|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com]  2008-07-08 15:44|| Front Page Top

#5 All my KATUSAs, the local merchants and the bar girls [short time or overnight] spoke very good English during my stay at Tongduchon :)
Posted by Procopius2k 2008-07-08 17:04||   2008-07-08 17:04|| Front Page Top

#6 So in the future we're all gonna talk like characters from Firefly?
Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-07-08 17:37||   2008-07-08 17:37|| Front Page Top

#7 Chinee can't do LOL cat speek
Posted by .5MT 2008-07-08 18:44||   2008-07-08 18:44|| Front Page Top

#8 It's Wired Magazine. It would be unfair to expect one of their journalists to understand a complicated subject like linguistics. Old English gave us Beowulf; it then evolved into Middle English, giving us the Canterbury Tales; finally we have Modern English, with Shakespear, Thomas Jefferson, Jane Austen, and Robert Frost. Whyever should English cease to evolve now, just because the cutting edge intellectuals at Wired finally learnt how to write in complete sentences?
Posted by Phuth Black5892">Phuth Black5892  2008-07-08 18:53||   2008-07-08 18:53|| Front Page Top

#9 http://engrish.com/


nuff said
Posted by Frank G">Frank G  2008-07-08 18:59||   2008-07-08 18:59|| Front Page Top

#10 Somehow I briefly became Phuth Black5892. No doubt I pressed a wrong button or something.

LOL cat speek is as difficult a language as JosephMendiola or muck4doo, .5MT. One can't blame the heathen chinee for being stymied. ;-)
Posted by Phuth Black5892">Phuth Black5892  2008-07-08 19:07||   2008-07-08 19:07|| Front Page Top

#11 It wants me to be Phuth Black5892 today. P'rhaps it's the thunderstorm overhead.
Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife  2008-07-08 19:08||   2008-07-08 19:08|| Front Page Top

#12 /miss muck-lish
Posted by OldSpook 2008-07-08 19:53||   2008-07-08 19:53|| Front Page Top

#13 Ima thinkrn same Oldspook.
Posted by Frank G">Frank G  2008-07-08 19:57||   2008-07-08 19:57|| Front Page Top

#14 many years ago I had a friend from Texas (Huge good humored) who met anothe friend (Short, female NewYorker)
I had to translate
Posted by Redneck Jim">Redneck Jim  2008-07-08 20:01||   2008-07-08 20:01|| Front Page Top

#15 Hey Joe, I give you sucky-sucky, I love you long time.
Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-07-08 23:09||   2008-07-08 23:09|| Front Page Top

#16 Hey Joe, I give you sucky-sucky, I love you long time.

T.M.I. Get a room!
Posted by Omomoter Sforza1119 2008-07-08 23:49||   2008-07-08 23:49|| Front Page Top

23:49 Omomoter Sforza1119
23:21 bigjim-ky
23:20 bigjim-ky
23:18 Some guy
23:13 bigjim-ky
23:11 bigjim-ky
23:10 bigjim-ky
23:09 bigjim-ky
23:05 bigjim-ky
23:04 bigjim-ky
23:03 bigjim-ky
23:02 Some guy
22:56 bigjim-ky
22:53 bigjim-ky
22:44 Abdominal Snowman
22:30 JosephMendiola
22:28 Abdominal Snowman
22:26 Old Patriot
22:20 JosephMendiola
22:14 Nimble Spemble
22:09 3dc
22:09 JosephMendiola
22:06 JosephMendiola
22:04 Alaska Paul









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