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Evolution of the language out of native’s hands
The internet age is growing and growing. In the western world, we may feel as though it has already reached all corners, but in the developing world, its rise continues at an incredibly fast rate. Indeed, in Africa, the number of internet users has grown over 3000% in little over a decade. This figure, however, still accounts for just 15.6% of the total billion plus inhabitants, and thus the growth potential is huge.
With the internet comes communications and with communications comes language. Professional translation company involvement is growing, in order to bridge the language barrier. Although both English and Mandarin (Chinese) account for approximately a quarter of online users each – with the number of English users slightly higher – the percentage of those browsing in English outside of English speaking countries is much higher than the latter.
Fundamentally, the internet connects the world and increasingly social media (networking and discovery) tools are being developed to encourage enhanced communication and collaboration. There are all manner of social networking websites and apps, of course the most famous being Facebook and Twitter, and now, too, there is a growing number of social discovery tools. All of these are increasing the communicability of individuals, globally, and in doing so are influencing the very language we use.
So How is Social Media Changing Language?
First of all, social media, quite simply, is changing the manner in which we communicate. Both the 140 character limit of Twitter and the various limits on text messages have led us to say what we want to say in a more condensed fashion. This has led to the increasing use of acronyms, as well as the creation of new ones. It can even change the way we spell certain words.
With social media existing at such a fast pace, it is impossible for a professional translation company to constantly translate and – especially with the amount of slang, acronyms and ‘new’ language – automated services are unable to offer assistance. This is where this new hybrid English is coming in incredibly useful.
An additional element to social media’s impact on language is the number of words that have come along with it; ‘tweeps’, ‘cyberstalking’, ‘twitlit’, ‘Tebowing’, ‘photobombing’ and ‘YOLO’ are all words that have all come to prominence through social media, and it is indeed social media itself that plays a roll in such words receiving recognition.
Dictionary Recognition
The Collins Dictionary, which has become increasingly important since its first edition in 1979, is a well respected print and online English dictionary, published by Hyper Collins. The editors have used ‘crowdsourcing’ in a bid to keep up with this rapid evolution of language and social media has been their preferred tool.
By requesting individual internet users to submit ideas for new words to be recognised by the dictionary, they ensure that they keep up with current trends. As these words can then be vetted through social
