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> Controversial opinon: linguistic evolution is slowing down considerably. (Brit here) Multicultural London English [0] and others like it suggest that languag

> Controversial opinon: linguistic evolution is slowing down considerably. (Brit here) Multicultural London English [0] and others like it suggest that language continues to evolve rapidly. I can't even do an MLE accent in the way that I could yorkshire, scouse, etc. > written language, as per example of Modern English, is not likely to naturally evolve once it's rules have been set Look at the rapid emergence of txt speak, emojis, etc, creating written forms that again rapidly evolve and may be unintelligible to an older generation > English will do the same by simply eliminating other languages. Look at the variety of English used in India. This continues to evolve independently of, say, British English and US English. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicultural_London_English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicultural_London_English

OJFord 2y ago
I find Indian English fascinating as a tangent to my learning Hindi. From grammatical/auxiliary word 'errors' or quirks that you can relate to Hindi (and probably other Indic languages, I'm just not familiar) to vocabulary or usage that's not incorrect at all, it's just extremely quaint sounding or rare in British English, but for whatever reason so much more common in IE. (I can't think of a good example for the latter at the moment, for the former I mean things like 'I myself have noticed this' or 'it's common in Indian English only'.) It also provides one of my favourite words/concepts (which isn't quite an example of the second point as I meant it): timepass. Something you do to pass the time, or a (not exactly positive, nor negative) review of something that served that purpose.
- Suppafly 2y ago
  I always wondered if the, common in IT, phrases like 'do the needful' and 'do the necessary' that you hear from Indian English speakers evolved from Hindi phrases.
  - delecti 2y ago
    Interestingly India got "do the needful" from Britain, but then it dropped out of use there, while India kept it. There are things like that idea though. I hear "different different" from Indian coworkers pretty regularly, which is apparently a direct translation of a common Hindi expression.
    - OJFord 2y ago
      I'm not familiar with that one but I believe it - there's a lot of repetition for emphasis like that, and for example 'same same' or 'slowly slowly' (धीरे-धीरे) leaks into Indian English for sure. (And to be honest, my own if I'm talking to people I attempt to speak Hindi (or Hinglish) with - once you're aware of it it seems pretty natural and effective, all of these things do, which is what I find so fascinating really. I've grown up speaking BrE completely without it, but then you hear it and it makes sense. Even head movements other than nodding-yes and shaking-no: couldn't reproduce them, but somehow they immediately make sense, and are so much more expressive than I know how to be with words, certainly to be so succinct anyway.)

OJFord 2y ago

I find Indian English fascinating as a tangent to my learning Hindi. From grammatical/auxiliary word 'errors' or quirks that you can relate to Hindi (and probably other Indic languages, I'm just not familiar) to vocabulary or usage that's not incorrect at all, it's just extremely quaint sounding or rare in British English, but for whatever reason so much more common in IE. (I can't think of a good example for the latter at the moment, for the former I mean things like 'I myself have noticed this' or 'it's common in Indian English only'.) It also provides one of my favourite words/concepts (which isn't quite an example of the second point as I meant it): timepass. Something you do to pass the time, or a (not exactly positive, nor negative) review of something that served that purpose.

Suppafly 2y ago
I always wondered if the, common in IT, phrases like 'do the needful' and 'do the necessary' that you hear from Indian English speakers evolved from Hindi phrases.
- delecti 2y ago
  Interestingly India got "do the needful" from Britain, but then it dropped out of use there, while India kept it. There are things like that idea though. I hear "different different" from Indian coworkers pretty regularly, which is apparently a direct translation of a common Hindi expression.
  - OJFord 2y ago
    I'm not familiar with that one but I believe it - there's a lot of repetition for emphasis like that, and for example 'same same' or 'slowly slowly' (धीरे-धीरे) leaks into Indian English for sure. (And to be honest, my own if I'm talking to people I attempt to speak Hindi (or Hinglish) with - once you're aware of it it seems pretty natural and effective, all of these things do, which is what I find so fascinating really. I've grown up speaking BrE completely without it, but then you hear it and it makes sense. Even head movements other than nodding-yes and shaking-no: couldn't reproduce them, but somehow they immediately make sense, and are so much more expressive than I know how to be with words, certainly to be so succinct anyway.)