English Language As Electronic Language
The revolutionary nature of 21st-century communication, which is electronically-mediated communication (EMC) and dominated by the English language, is driven by the growth of the internet and the continuous expansion of mobile technologies and computers. Recently, the EMC has received even more significant importance due to the pandemic that has been grappling with the world.
The EMC or electronic communication has quickly become part of the new normal. This gave rise to the greater demands for electronic contents that can be accessed anytime, anywhere, and by anyone who needs them. Hence, the IT (Information and Technology) world has to keep up with the rapid change in communication and the growing demands for more quality, reliable, and relevant content.
On the part of the IT industry, they are responding through the creations and the development of social networking sites (online platforms where people can virtually interact with each other), content creation platforms (website, blogs, vlogs, e-commerce), and applications and software (that people can use for various purposes – like communication, online classes, businesses).
These responses of the IT experts enable the content creators to be creative in the way they create, present, and deliver their content. One of the widely used media in content creation online is the English language. It is logically so since English is almost considered as the global language. This use of English globally, especially in the World Wide Web (www) is what I refer to in this paper as electronic English.
English on the Webpages
English language domination of the web
According to the Web Technology Surveys or W3Tech, among the top 10 million websites on the World Wide Web, 60.7% of them are using English as the language of their websites. This is an indicator that English is the most spoken language globally either natively or as a second language by at least 1.35 billion people worldwide as of 2021 according to Statista.
With the use of advanced technology, the rest of those top 10 million websites, and other websites that use languages other than English, have an automatic website translation to English. In that case, the web visitors or the traffic will not be wasted in the case of e-commerce websites. For instance, when I open the website on an online shop in Japan, it is normally in the Japanese language. But typically, there are language options that translate the entire website to the specific language I choose.
English language as a business
The electronic English in almost all of the English web pages is refined, edited, and proofread. They adhere to the linguist conventions and therefore the linguistic divergence is very minimal or zero.
This is also due to the availability and affordability of English online editing services. This online editing itself is a million-dollar industry where people from all over the world seek professional assistance from an English editor and/or proofreader. Most websites hire editors and proofreaders to fix and refine their content for professionalism and credibility. Hence, it is very rare to see professional websites tainted with grammatical blunders or typographical errors.
English on Blogs
Blogging and the English language
A blog, a truncation of weblog, has become popular for content creators, especially writers. Blogs can be the main part or feature of a website or just one page on a bigger website. It is on the blog page that contents are produced and posted and shared to the different social media platforms, basically to drive traffic to the website. Blog posts can be a form of any article, commentary, diary, review, and so on in any niche.
Compared to other static pages in a website, the blog page is more dynamic since most blog posts allow the readers to leave a comment or question, thereby creating an opportunity for interactivities. It is on the blog page that the writers or content creators can build relationships and connections with their readers. Blogging, which is creating or writing contents online, is a powerful technique for driving traffic. Hence, blogging can be a very lucrative side hassle for those who love writing and sharing things online.
Understanding the nature of blogging will give us an idea that a huge amount of words in a specific language, like English, are found on this page of the website. It is on this page where we can see the level of formality and proficiency of the writers. Some writers, especially those who are bilingual or multilingual, mixed two languages intentionally to sound more informal or casual, or to easily connect with the readers. However, it is typical to see the standard English use on various blogs due to the credibility and professionalism associated with the proper use of language.
English on Email
English language and email
Electronic mail or email (or e-mail) is a method of exchanging mail (messages) through the use of electronic devices. It is a popular form of communication nowadays that is almost replacing the traditional physical mail services. Senders of an email use their e-signature (electronic signature), sometimes a complete name or their actual signature in a form of an image (png or jpeg) to attach the value or validity of their email.
The English used in email exchange or correspondence varies according to purpose and recipients. It completely depends on the sender if he/she will use formal English, informal English or casual English.
Standard English language in business
For business correspondence, standard formal English is highly encouraged in Business English training or Communication Skills training. Hence, when the students, for example, apply for jobs online via email, the tone of their application letter is formal. Likewise, in the business correspondence of most companies, their English use is quite formal although plain. I usually experience this when I buy something from a company or when I send an inquiry to an online store. They typically respond with a formal standard of English. In that case, I would say, the formality and proficiency of language use depend on the senders.
But since email is private and personal, there is also a lot of freedom to be casual or informal. I sometimes send messages via email with my English very informal, shortened, and mixed codes (English, Bikol and Tagalog, and sometimes Japanese).
English language in email marketing
I also experience receiving an intentional non-standard use of English via email. But this is obviously copywriting or email marketing strategy to easily grab the attention of the readers. Examples of the parts of the email I receive are the following: Hey, you angry?! / How you doing! / Wazzup yesterday!
But these are rare and I know they are used intentionally for email marketing. Marketers have their own linguistic styles to capture the attention of their clients in order to convert them to sales.
Again, the English used in email is not easy to ascertain whether the majority of users of email use formal English, standard English, or domesticated English. Simply because email is private and personal compared to the social media platforms below.
English on Microblogging
The use of the English language in microblogging
Microblogging, which is a form of blogging, is an online broadcast medium. Its contents are typically smaller file sizes. In microblogging, users are allowed to share and exchange small elements of content like images, video links, and short sentences.
Those brief messages or sentences shared online are also called micro-posts. Some of the popular microblogging platforms are the social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tumblr. In the groups created inside these platforms, the members are allowed to interact with each other virtually by sharing files and micro-posts, commenting, and reacting.
It is in these microblogging platforms where we can observe how the users use English. The dynamism of the English language is seen on those platforms due to the users` creativity in using the English language.
The users typically apply the SMS (short message service) style in posting their status or in dropping comments to some micro-posts. Users are also fond of code-mixing in their micro-posts. To those who are not well versed in the social media platform language, it may cause communication problems like a lack of comprehensibility.
Implications of electronic English
Averianova (2012) observed in his study the penetration of texting or SMS shorthand into academic writing. According to him, some students demonstrate a lack of code-switching skills and a growing preference towards non-standard use of English in the academic context. If this practice persists, there will come a time when those non-standard use of English will be accepted in the academic context.
The dialectic of change, as I borrow from the idea of Hegel, will inevitably make the way for the non-standard use towards the mainstream or standard use. The dialectic theory is a theory of process in which an established thesis is challenged by the newcomer antithesis. And to resolve the conflict between the two (between the thesis and the antithesis), a synthesis is made. Later on, the synthesis becomes a new thesis that will be challenged by a later antithesis. And the process goes on and on and on.
Likewise, in the evolution of language – in this case, the English language – the dialectic of change can be observed. I think it is the same process of evolution that make the English language what it is now.
To put an example, in Middle English (roughly 12th century to 15th century), the established language in England (especially by the royalty and government) after the conquest of the Normans was the Anglo-Norman or the Norman French. Here, I presume that the Anglo-Norman was the thesis. Then, the old English spoken by the significant number of peasants and commoners was the antithesis. Although they developed in parallel, there was a linguistic struggle whether one should be dominant or the other.
In other words, there was a tension between the two languages and an implied competition whether the Anglo-Norman or the Old English would the national language. Eventually, the intermarriage and mixing of those two languages resulted in the so-called Middle English. This Middle English was the synthesis. And we know that the evolution of English did not stop there as evolution, as posited by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, is meant to continue due to its very nature (San Jose, 2008). The evidence we can mention is the evolution of the Middle English to Modern English and to the form of standard English we are using now.
Applying it in our present context, especially the English use in widespread microblogging, the standard English is assumed as the thesis. Then, the non-standard English use including the SMS and abbreviation forms of words or sentences can be assumed as the antithesis. How about the synthesis? Well, it`s a matter of time.
Most probably, and I guess we are still in the process of tensions between the thesis and the antithesis. I honestly do not know what kind of English (or synthesis) will emerge in the next couple of decades or centuries. But the point is that microblogging plays a major role in the continuous evolution of the English language.
This evolution comes with good and bad effects on the English language. The good effects of this evolution may include the simplification of words for quick comprehensibility, simplified grammar, domestication of English or inculturation of English, creation of the new meaning, and so on. The bad effects may include the total disappearance of the obsolete words, deterioration of the meaning of words, and even a complete rejection of verbal hygiene practices.
For prescriptive linguists, verbal hygiene practices should be practiced as they are hygienic in nature. Verbal hygiene includes the effort to improve or correct speech and writing based on the standard or convention. However, in microblogging, it is clearly evident that many young people do not care of verbal hygiene practices.
In the study I conducted in 2018 regarding the millennials` contraventions of verbal hygiene practices, I was able to identify the millennials` contraventions of verbal hygiene practices on the ten microblogging platforms (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr). Between November to December 2017, I followed and monitored the 10 millennials` statuses, posts, and reposts on various microblogging platforms. The results showed their contraventions of one or several verbal hygiene practices.
Again, my point here is that the microblogging platforms provide the netizens a facility to express their language in a democratic way. Most of the time, netizens invoke their right to freedom of expression when they post or repost something on their status or newsfeed.
The questions to us now are worth noting. Is it really a challenge to control or regulate the netizen’s freedom of expression to a certain extent? Is it worth the effort to keep our young people adhering to the English verbal hygiene practices? If the language is dynamic and evolving continuously, should we be worried about how the netizens use the English language on those microblogging platforms? Will the electronic language of microblogging platforms, especially those that are considered non-standard English, make a way towards standard English?
References:
Averianova, I. (2012). The language of electronic communication and its implications for TEFL. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume, 34, pp. 14-19. ISSN 1877-0428, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.02.004 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042812003096)
San Jose, D.B. (2008). The philosophy of language of Ferdinand de Saussure and its contemporary relevance. Holy Trinity College Seminary. Unpublished thesis.
San Jose, D.B. (2018). Millennials` contraventions of verbal hygiene practices. Bicol University. Unpublished Master`s thesis.
The most spoken languages worldwide in 2021. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
Usage statistics of content languages for websites. W3Tech. https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
(Originally Published: March 2021)
