Mason Teply
Reflective Essay
Language, culture, and power
Language is an evolving process that will always continue. Language is how people communicate
and is a biological necessity. Since the beginning of the human species, language has been around. It
started as just being vocal and over many years became written. Language must change over time to
stay current with the times. An example would be a microwave, as it is a fairly new lexis item. Perhaps in
the future microwave will no longer be used if it is replaced by better technology. Already some
technology is beginning to vanish such as the tape player or cassette. Many words are controversial such
as LOL. This word appears to provide little value and many people find it does not belong in the
dictionary. However, as words get used more often, they become part of our dictionary even if many
disagree. Languages as a whole also appear to have many challenges. With English evolving at such a
fast rate, more languages are beginning to vanish. It is important to keep traditional languages
preserved, while English continues to become the dominant language.
What makes a piece of language acceptable in the English dictionary? This may be one of the
most controversial questions in all of English. English as of late appears to be evolving from teenage
girls. Their continuous changes of the use of English have become popular. With texting becoming a
world dominated way of communication, teenage girls continue to make new words and change the
meanings of current ones. LOL is an example of a word that used to mean laugh out loud. Over time it
became just a casual way of communication. However even just recently the term has been become less
used. The redundancy of the term may one day become its demise. The same goes for YOLO. This term
was quite popular a few years back, but now you rarely see it. Perhaps this term may die. One thing
about text language appears to be that it always changes at a rapid rate. Many argue that this text
Mason Teply
language is an unacceptable form of English, however it continually shows up in our dictionary and even
on the news. Just turn on CNN and you will likely hear the word “selfie” within an hour.
Another big question in the English language is, how much is too much? Over half of the world’s
languages have gone extinct. As new languages arise old languages appear to vanish. What will happen
as English becomes taught even more? How can I as a teacher, preserve other cultures languages while
teaching English? These languages can be preserved if English teachers respect the culture that they
teach. They must show an understanding and acceptance of the differences. It is also the duty of an
English teacher to learn the language of the country that they are teaching. In this way a fair trade off
occurs. English is being taught, but the countries language is being preserved by being taught as well.
Governments also have a big say in what languages stay and which ones go. As long as governments
accept English with terms I believe their countries language can be preserved. An example might be
requiring their countries language to be the primary, and English a secondary language. It is important
to still have English as a required language none the less. English provides better opportunities and
greater knowledge of the world.
English will continue to expand with the internet, and is important to accept all the new words
that are evolving. English is perhaps having one of the biggest growth periods in a long while. With
texting and the technology age, new words continuously sprout up. Even just a few years ago words
such as app, hashtag, and defriend would have been scoffed at. It is also an English teacher’s job to learn
and stay informed with all of the changes. An English teacher must also be willing to adapt to their
cultures traditions, in order to preserve native languages. English has many potentials for all countries,
but if powerful governments lets it take over completely, the consequences are irreversible. Many
countries have put up blocks to keep their native tongue intact, but sometimes those blocks are too
strong. It is important to compromise, and hopefully more countries will see the benefits of English.
without letting it vanquish their countries traditions and languages.