“Just Google it.” This is perhaps the most commonly used phrase of late, but how many have noticed its transition from a noun to a verb? Or how the words ‘troll’, ‘traffic’ and ‘mouse’ have developed new meanings? The influence of the Internet and technology has not only made lives easier, but also had an impact on the language one uses.
The English language has always been influenced by culture and today’s Internet culture is no exception.
“No other invention has impacted the English language with such speed as the Internet has in the last two decades,” said Girija Nambiar, a retired English Professor from the Maris Stella College here. “Whether this impact is positive or not is popularly debated. What cannot be disputed is that the Internet has changed the way we speak and write.”
“The Internet has given rise to a new register but it is evolving so rapidly that only avid users of the Net are able to keep abreast of the new usage,” Mrs. Nambiar said. Though everyone nowadays is acquainted with the register of new technology, it is the teenagers who start speaking as if they are texting online.
“This could probably be due to the countless hours one tends to spend online or with technology rather than manually interacting with people,” says Dvija Sree, a DPS student.
Acronyms such as LOL and BTW are used so frequently that they are on their way to the Oxford English Dictionary! Their usage isn’t just confined to texting; students let these words seep into their conversations and as a professor she admitted to having corrected academic essays that reflected the influence of these acronyms and shortened words.
She expressed concern for the slowly deteriorating grammar standards of students in Vijayawada. People are relying far too much on spellcheck and autocorrect, hence making no effort to better their spelling and vocabulary.
While discussing the subject of language revitalisation, she spoke about the vast numbers of languages that were dying out and quoted studies which showed English would be predominant in the near future.
But she also agreed that Telugu would not be facing this problem for a long time due to enthusiastic teachers, writers and speakers in Vijayawada who would not let the language die out.
