One of the most fascinating things about our language is its ability to reshape itself to suit our needs. The English language is extraordinarily malleable and is able to live and flex within the requirements of our dynamic and ever-changing society.
To meet our changing world, words are being added on a daily basis. Some of these new words, although they are useful for a specific period, may not remain in favour – when was the last time you heard someone talk about a charabanc? This diminishing popularity may be because other synonyms become more prominent, or the objects or practices to which they refer become obsolete in themselves. However other new additions will remain as essential components of communication.
It's extraordinary to consider how our tongue broadens to accommodate the requirements of our age, as in, for example, with current technological advances. Who amongst us now does not use the net daily to google search terms, to tweet, to download emails and upload photos and videos, to check social media, or to write blogs or even vlogs? Even thirty years ago, that sentence would have made no sense whatsoever to the average English speaker.
What a fabulous thing it is that the language can stretch to such an extent! We now have access to all the language that has gone before us, and we also have all the new vocabulary that helps us to communicate in our changing times. And of course, the greater the number of words that we know and comprehend, the greater our ability to identify and express our thoughts and ideas.
To meet our changing world, words are being added on a daily basis. Some of these new words, although they are useful for a specific period, may not remain in favour – when was the last time you heard someone talk about a charabanc? This diminishing popularity may be because other synonyms become more prominent, or the objects or practices to which they refer become obsolete in themselves. However other new additions will remain as essential components of communication.
It's extraordinary to consider how our tongue broadens to accommodate the requirements of our age, as in, for example, with current technological advances. Who amongst us now does not use the net daily to google search terms, to tweet, to download emails and upload photos and videos, to check social media, or to write blogs or even vlogs? Even thirty years ago, that sentence would have made no sense whatsoever to the average English speaker.
What a fabulous thing it is that the language can stretch to such an extent! We now have access to all the language that has gone before us, and we also have all the new vocabulary that helps us to communicate in our changing times. And of course, the greater the number of words that we know and comprehend, the greater our ability to identify and express our thoughts and ideas.
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