Future of the English Language

[eastsidebagel]

Since many of those who post here are from an English-speaking origin, I thought it might be interesting to ask how you might imagine the future of this tongue. A couple of starter questions:
Could somebody from the future (as far as 3000 A.D.) understand without any problems what we're talking right now?
Will the English language will be greatly simplified in the future, in terms of grammar and vocabulary?
Will the English language ever lose it's former Germanic and Scandinavian origins and will it be evolved "out of itself" in the future?
Can you think of some examples of slang or colloquial spoken English in the future?
I'll leave it for now to you.
P.S.: Oh yes, I'm a language nut, in case you're wondering. Languages and their evolution were always something very interesting for me.

 

[theskald]

FWIW IMO english is doomed, kthx TTYL.

 

[eastsidebagel]

FWIW IMO english is doomed, kthx TTYL.

Granted, but how would you pronounce that in real-life-conversations?

 

[theskald]

"Lawl" is already common enough, the kids will think of something.

Also, on a more serious note, no more subjunctive.

And to answer your fourth question: it kinda already has, if by "evolve" you mean "gorge itself on the lexicons and standards of every language it sees."

 

[mangxema]

Could somebody from the future (as far as 3000 A.D.) understand without any problems what we're talking right now?

Doubt it, that about the time difference between now and Beowulf.

Will the English language will be greatly simplified in the future, in terms of grammar and vocabulary?

Vocabulary, no; if anything, English has only gotten more expansive and convoluted with respect to vocabulary. Grammar could, but I'm not sure what more we could lose. I mean as it is, we don't really conjugate verbs... there's no gender (except the obvious)... I guess it could go under a kind of regularization with respect to spelling and maybe verb tenses. Spelling especially... just enforcing the rules we have more often would go a long way.

Will the English language ever lose it's former Germanic and Scandinavian origins and will it be evolved "out of itself" in the future?

I doubt it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. There's no reason to stop calling a house a house.

P.S.: Oh yes, I'm a language nut, in case you're wondering.

As am I.

 

[Sharwood]

The future of the English language involves words such as doublethink, crimethink, and doubleplusgood.

 

[eastsidebagel]

What about words like pownage, lolwut and cornholio, known expressions by now, but genuinely used in normal future conversations? I heard already this for the word "uber", which derived purely from the Internet.

 

[Sharwood]

What about words like pownage, lolwut and cornholio, known expressions by now, but genuinely used in normal future conversations? I heard already this for the word "uber", which derived purely from the Internet.

Those words will be part of the English language for a while, then gradually change and disappear as new slang terms are developed. After all, how often do you hear people describe something as "ace" nowadays? They'll almost certainly be gone by 3000AD, even if we're not.

 

[eastsidebagel]

I think that with the means of modern communication tools, like the Internet or the mobile phone, things we didn't even have before thirty years, new slang terms will be crafted and some of them will be so repeatedly used over the decades, that they will permanently find their way into normal English, thus changing it's image for ever. What about "muggle", invented by J.K. Rowling? It's now officially a common word, describing a non-magical person.

 

[Annex]

What about words like pownage, lolwut and cornholio, known expressions by now, but genuinely used in normal future conversations? I heard already this for the word "uber", which derived purely from the Internet.

Unfortunately, I think the word cornholio has already passed its peak usage.

 

[Sharwood]

I think that with the means of modern communication tools, like the Internet or the mobile phone, things we didn't even have before thirty years, new slang terms will be crafted and some of them will be so repeatedly used over the decades, that they will permanently find their way into normal English, thus changing it's image for ever. What about "muggle", invented by J.K. Rowling? It's now officially a common word, describing a non-magical person.

If it's that common, how come I've never heard of it? Your point about new slang terms being crafted actually negates your argument, as, with very few exceptions, slang terms are replaced by other slang terms, they don't become part of the regular language.

And you don't seem to understand that in a thousand years, there's a dman good chance English won't even be used, and that if it is, it will be utterly unlike Modern English. It's difficult for people who haven't been taught to do so to read Shakespeare nowadays, and that was only a few hundred years ago, and probably infinitely more understandable than your average gutter argot at the time.

With the exception of scholars, I doubt the English-speakers of 3000AD, if they exist, would be able to understand even a fifth of what is written on this board. Then again, I have trouble understanding a fifth of what's on this board, so that may well be a bad example.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I heard already this for the word "uber", which derived purely from the Internet.

The German equivalent of the Latin "Super" is not purely from the internet, even if it did lose the umlaut there.

 

[warpus]

By the year 3000 English should have finished evolving into Polish.

 

[Sharwood]

By the year 3000 English should have finished evolving into Polish.

In the same way the Tasmanians evolved into British, you mean.

 

[eastsidebagel]

If it's that common, how come I've never heard of it? Your point about new slang terms being crafted actually negates your argument, as, with very few exceptions, slang terms are replaced by other slang terms, they don't become part of the regular language.

As I said. And with todays Internet and with the lightening-fast distribution and spreading of "meta-memes" in the web, there is always a slim chance for every newly created slang term to survive and to penetrate the core vocabulary of the English language.
And you won't hear often the word "muggle" on the streets, but it's really officially recognized by Webster and therefore it became "common" English, due to it's fame and the world-wide acquaintance of it's proper usage in the Potter books.

 

[Sharwood]

As I said. And with todays Internet and with the lightening-fast distribution and spreading of "meta-memes" in the web, there is always a slim chance for every newly created slang term to survive and to penetrate the core vocabulary of the English language.
And you won't hear often the word "muggle" on the streets, but it's really officially recognized by Webster and therefore it became "common" English, due to it's fame and the world-wide acquaintance of it's proper usage in the Potter books.

Considering that modern-day dictionaries recognise "bouncebackability" as a word (I'm not making that up) I don't hold that merely being placed in a dictionary indicates common usage.

 

[PiMan]

My dictionary doesn't like bouncebackability.

 

[Sharwood]

My dictionary doesn't like bouncebackability.

That's just because your dictionary isn't bouncebackable enough.

 

[Dachs]

The future of the English language involves words such as doublethink, crimethink, and doubleplusgood.

I have decided to commit suicide.

 

[Sharwood]

I have decided to commit suicide.

Not an Orwell fan?