http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2014/07/future-english
"...about two-thirds of English-speakers are not first-language speakers of English."
"Contrary to educated people’s stereotypes, the tiny languages spoken by “stone-age” or isolated tribes tend to be the world’s most complicated, while big ones are less so..."
This article discusses the changes to English that might be seen as it continues its reign as the world's 'global language'. Mentioned is the tendency for 'bigger languages', languages with more speakers, to be relatively simple compared to smaller languages. For example, modern Mandarin is considered to be a relatively simpler language than other modern Chinese langauges. It is stated that over time, especially as a language becomes more commonly used, certain unnecessary and/or complicated bits of grammar are lost.
Based on the above trend, it is predicted that English's 'tense-aspect system' will undergo simplification as it is an aspect of the language that many learners find difficult, and an aspect which is not necessarily crucial for understanding. It is also predicted that English will continue to diverge, creating a number of new dialects, adding to the already great number of English pidgins and creoles which can be observed across the globe.
The article concludes with the statement that although the use of English in the future will continue to stray from what is considered 'correct', the language is not undergoing a declination, but a natural evolution. The author believes that worrying about the 'declining state of the language' is foolish, as English would not continue to spread across the world if it were not sufficiently descriptive and expressive.
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