English Loses Ground

Spoken English changes with usage and time assuming of colorful syntax and forms. People are not strictly required to use the language of English Queen , who administered the languages used in the British colonies.Rochelle Sharpe wrote an article titled, ‘English Loses Ground’. The author stated that, in over 5.5 million linguistically secluded families, people above fourteen years can hardly speak English correctly. English language has assimilated syntax and its usage forms reflect the user’s needs. Most Americans use Chinese, Russian and Spanish in their day to day activities. The author analyzes how English is losing ground in the native English society.

Statistics show that in every group of five who are over five years old, one speaks a foreign language at the expense of speaking English (Census Bureau 2007). The main reason for the increase of foreign languages at homes is the growing Latino population that has increased randomly since early 1990s. 42.6% of California population are foreign language speakers. In fact, it is hard to hear a person speaking pure English. This is ironic as compared to the colonized states where you hear a person speaking before you walk for a few minutes (Sharpe 18).

The statistics done on American states might act as a hindrance to job prospects in the areas concerned. Employees will not accept people from these areas on the basis that they cannot speak fluent English. The corrupted English language or total failure to use the language does not only affect job prospects but also hinders people from accessing help from firefighters, police and doctors. It would be advisable for the people in the areas concerned to go back to class and advance their English. This is the only way they can bridge the gap revealed by statistics concerning their fluency in English. Mastering English will be advantageous as it will create a different picture in the job market (Tan 271). However, there is a problem associated with learning English. There are many people who desire to advance their English language, but opportunities to learn it are limited. Therefore, it becomes hard for those interested to learn the language. This is ironic considering the fact that English is the native language (Sharpe 17). The old schools, which taught English lessons to immigrants, do not exist anymore. This causes lesson jam in the few institutions which teach English in America.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed immigration of English Language on other continents, which had no clue of the language. British colonial rule established English language in Africa, India, Middle East and Malay Peninsula. The countries colonized were left with great interest of the language. In fact, people in countries speak correct English as compared to the original English speaking nations. They value the Language and include it in their learning curriculum from kindergarten. It becomes easy for them to use correct grammar the way they are taught. Speaking English is valued and taken to be part of civilization. Everyone does his or her best to communicate with good English. They have confidence in this foreign language as compared to their original mother tongue (Sharpe 16).

It would be almost impossible to create another language to be used the way English has been used internationally. Globalization requires much to be done at a lightning speed. Therefore, the world has a lot to do rather than introducing a new language. Using English is the best option to enhance communication internationally (Tan 275).

Current lawmaking aggravates the situation. Some nations are amending laws and enacting new laws, which do not favor growth and development of English language. Arizona recently enacted a law banning undocumented people from giving fees for community institute lessons. Similarly, California has banned bilingual classes in public schools. However, over half of American states have English as their official language (Tan 272).

Language is the most important code of transmitting, meaning from one person to another. When people move from one place to another, they acquire new codes and travel with them. This helps them to communicate effectively with the people they meet on their way (Davis 14). As time moves on, people move to new places and meet new people. It becomes hard to decipher the codes. However, some people still understand the codes and feel that it is the best way to communicate. This way different codes arise and they are expected to have the same meaning. Tone expression is also used to decode a message from a language. High and low tones have different meanings. This is affected by area of origin and the mother tongue. Therefore, the original English language might be hard to locate considering the diversified English languages existing today (Davis 13).

In conclusion, English has developed in an evolutionary and a circuitous fashion. The language has incorporated rules, sentence structure, grammar and usage forms to fit the user. The language is used for communication and can fit different situations in a different manner. However, the growing loss of interest for Americans to speak English is terrifying. There are many reasons attributed to this loss. America has many immigrants who use foreign languages. This influences citizens to change their language and talk like the majority. Additionally, most Americans have visited different parts of the world and learnt foreign languages, which they find interesting to use.