English language and the Internet - Part 2

Note: To read the first part of this article, go to "English Language and the Internet"

David Crystal states that three-quarters of the world´s population are naturally bilingual, and that it´s perfectly possible to maintain the role of a standard language as a lingua franca (that would be English) and at the same time maintain local languages: the standard guarantees intelligibility, the local expresses identity. Despite this, Crystal says that the Internet is ceasing to be a purely English-language medium, as it was when it started. He found over 1,500 languages on the Net, and estimates that the Net is now down to about 65% English, and still falling.

And he has his eyes on the future: asked if the usage of e-mail would impact on language creativity he stated that all domains of the Internet - e-mail, the Web, chat groups, and the fantasy games that people play - are introducing new styles and possibilities into the language. "Every new technology does this. The arrival of printing brought an amazing range of new forms of expression. Broadcasting brought another. And now we have Internet technology, also adding a fresh dimension to language".

But there´s a dark side: asked if a lingua franca of such an impact like English can seriously threaten languages of limited diffusion, Crystal answered that this has already happened in Australia and North America, where most of the indigenous languages have gone down under the English steamroller.

It seems that Crystal´s main interest is in the readiness with which people are adapting spelling, grammar and semantics to meet the needs of Internet-based situations. Says he: "I believe in the fundamental value of diversity, as an evolutionary principle. Half the languages of the world are likely to die in the next 100 years - and if this happens it would be a true intellectual disaster. The world is a mosaic of visions, expressed through language. If even one language is lost, it is awful".

As to the future, Crystal is very pragmatic. He knows that world economic changes could bring languages like Chinese to the front, and goes on to say that "a language becomes a world language for one reason only - the power of the people who speak it. Power means political, economic, technological, and cultural power, of course. For historical reasons English has achieved the position it has. But it could be knocked off its path if some major shift in world power were to take place. I think it´s unlikely in the immediate future - but who dares predict very far ahead? Who would have predicted, 1,000 years ago, that Latin would be negligible today?"

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