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Language Change in the Global Age

Globalization

• Globalization is a much used (and abused) term which puts forward a rather controversial phenomenon, acclaimed by some as the ultimate resolve for a world gone mad but, at the same time, damned by others, because it will ultimately enact the loathsome, Orwellian, Big Brother fictional world.

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One of the basic aspects pertaining to globalization is that of communication.

• Communication becomes paramount in a globalizing world and it should bridge the (sometimes apparently insurmountable) gaps between the values, beliefs and practices characterizing the multitude of cultures still surviving nowadays.

• Ultimately it all comes down to languages, their use, and language related research.

Presentation Outline

• In the first part I shall explain the concept of globalization and the linguistic component of the phenomenon

• In the second part I shall explore the popular text by the American poet and entertainer George Carlin,"I'm a modern Man", a synthesis of the tendencies displayed by the English vocabulary in the Global Age,

• This tendency and its spreading is strongly supported by the media and it is very seldom subject to negotiations by individual translators.

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Global Age

• we will use the Global Age concept in relation to translation studies, referring to the historical period, the early 1980s, which turned the global notion into an analytical tool in various academic fields, from Sociology, to Business Studies, International Relations, Economy, and Geography to Linguistics.

new reality - new terminology

• "Talk of 'globalization' has become rife among academics, journalists, politicians, business people, advertisers and entertainers. Everyday conversation now includes regular reference to global markets, global Communications, global conferences, global threats, the global environment and so on. When new vocabulary gains such wide currency across continents, languages and walks of life, can it just be explained away as fad? Or does the novel word highlight a significant change in the world, where new terminology is needed to discuss new conditions?" (Scholte 2005, 14)

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rapid language change

• Question: What new conditions underlie the rapid language change?

• Answer: "In the current phase of fluid modernity, terminological

creation in English is incessantly driven by technological developments and the reorganization of the global economic space." (Cronin 2003, 121)

experiences – linguistic consequences

• The Global Age experiences: “a global world of 'informationalized', 'mediatized', 'hyperreal', 'virtual', 'imulated' experiences, which determines a rather unstable sense of identity.” (Scholte 2005, 15)

• The linguistic consequences:– the new lexical units which have recently enriched the English

language and are overused even outside the communication situations they were designed for

– the new directions taken by the translation process in a globalized world.

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"Will the English-dominated Internet spell the end of other

tongues?" David Crystal (Crystal 2006, 1)

• The ‘global village’ is nothing more than a 'media fiction', and so are the related notions, such as ‘digital citizens’, ‘virtual community’, and the ‘Net generation’ (Crystal 2006, 23).

• It is challenging to investigate 'the shared features of language which give the world community of users their sense of identity', as well as the 'trend towards such a unity' (Crystal 2006, 23).

English borowings – a threat?

• During the last decade, the vocabulary of most languages has been overwhelmed by the massive invasion of English words and phrases:– which were either assimilated or accepted in the standard

language, or– were considered superfluous and, consequently, a threat

to the national language • The "recent English borrowings" are either necessary,

because they designate recent developments in a field, or superfluous, because, in spite of having equivalents, they are used to impress the audience.

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• There is a widespread opinion that the Global Age is shaping not only the changes undergone by the English language (as the lingua franca of the moment) and the way in which it is used, but also the way in which this language is translated into less prominent languages.

Case Study

• We shall explore the way in which the popular text by the American entertainer George Carlin, "I'm a modern Man", a synthesis of the tendencies displayed by the English vocabulary in the Global Age.

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Why George Carlin and his text ?

• George Carlin is an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, actor and writer/author, who has won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums.

• Carlin is known for his critical, sometimes black humor as well for as his opinions on various high profile issues such as politics, the English language, religion, or various taboo subjects.

Language change

• For more than five decades, George Carlin has used his sharp humor to foreground (and mock) hypocrisy in people's actions and words. His way of tackling social issues is generally seen as disarming and deep, agreeable and intelligent.

• I have chosen I'm a Modern Man, because it was produced with the obvious intention to instantiate, in an overstated and ironic way, a quintessence of language change in a modern globalized world.

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The analysis: qualitative

• In the line of thought put forward by Fairclough (2006), I will use the term discourse in connection with social practices and acting in association with particular areas of social life that are relatively stable.

• The classification of the lexical items was made according to the way they represent aspects of the world.

• The category system emerging from this approach is formed of the following categories: digital culture, corporate culture, technology, psychology, health, social life and hip hop culture.

lexical items

• The globalized discourse operates within each field with lexical items which may fall into three groups:

• purely technical terms, those used exclusively in the field and with no application outside it,

• mixed terms, originating in the common vocabulary, but having acquired additional meanings in the specialist context, and

• common vocabulary.

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“jargonisation”

• ‘Pre-packaged’ experience, as Leech (1990: 32-35) calls it, is now found in languages more than ever before. Faced with terms like agenda, outsourced, multi-tasker, high-definition, pro-active, and so on, a potential translator has to make an informed choice, create equivalence with another item of modern lexical innovation.

• By informed choice, we mean a carefully weighed decision, one that takes into account meaning, reference, and especially the already established usage and translation practices of the country.

Digital related discourse

• In an age in which communication happens at the speed of clicks, the issue of lexical innovation and its transcultural dimension may be perceived as a sign of mobility and flexibility, acting in the frame of the phenomenon of globalization.

• Analyzing the lexical items which Carlin considered emblematic for the discourse of digital culture we notice that the vast majority of the lexical items have been borrowed into most languages and are technical terms.

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• In our text:• The most numerous are non assimilated lexical

items or phraseological calques where words and phrases preserve the meaning of the English source phrase and sometimes its internal structure, and replace the morphemes by those of the target language:

• gigabyte, hardcore, junk-mail, software, unlimited broadband capacity, hard-drive, user-friendly, voice activated, interface, database, cyberspace, wireless, up linked, downloaded, inputted, downside of upgrading

Technology related discourse units

• The lexical items placed in this category are transferred into most languages from English, marking the transfer of technology along with the transfer of terminology. An interesting feature, on which Carlin builds his text, is the high frequency of hyphenated or non-hyphenated compound technical terms.

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Examples

• high-tech, nanosecond, hot-wired, bio-degradable, radioactive, under-the-radar, medium-range ballistic missionary, top-gun bottom feeder, super-sized , long-lasting, high-definition, fast-acting, built-to-last, microwave, pre-wash, over and out

Corporate related discourse units

• The discourse of business passed through several stages. If, in the beginning, language change coexisted with terminological continuity, in a more advanced stage, a specialized corporate discourse emerged along with the new organizational practices and structures.

• Even if technical terms proper are still insufficient to cover all aspects of this field, translator manage to cover the gap and achieve semantic and functional equivalence.

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Examples

• cash-flow, mini-mall, mega-store, outsourced , upside of downsizing, state-of-the-art, multi-tasker, cool customer, high-concept, power ties, ongoing, pro-active outreach, over-achiever, low-rent, high-maintenance, income, revenue stream, cash-flow, junk bonds, capital intensive, mini-mall, mega-store, ready-to-wear, all sizes, fully-equipped, factory-authorized, pre-screened, pre-approved, post-dated

Psychology related discourse units

• Fully aware that people spend large amounts of time every day engaging in psychology related activities such as:– contemplating themselves, – worrying about what others thinks of them, – judging people walking down the street, – flirting with someone over dinner, – taking decisions, – comforting a friend, – persuading a client, – raising children,

• and many others, Carlin (2004) ironized the language employed for describing psychological phenomena and its excessive use.

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Examples

• low-life, cutting edge, inner child, outward bound, warm-hearted, heat seeking, interactive, hyperactive, on-point, on-task, on-message, off drugs, in-the-moment, on-the-edge, over-the-top, low-profile, power lies, raging workaholic, working rageaholic, out of rehab, in denial, shut me up, dumb me down, tireless, alpha male, non-believer, laid-back, up-front, down-home, hands-on, foot-loose, knee-jerk , head case, pretty maturely, post-traumatic, I’m feeling, I’m caring, I’m healing, I’m sharing, supportive, bonding , nurturing, primary care-giver

Health and food related discourse units

• Another obsession of the globalized millennium is healthy living and Carlin couldn't have skipped it in his "being a modern man".

• Living a healthy lifestyle is one of the most celebrated topics of all times. Wherever we go, we get to see and hear people talking about eating right and exercising.

• Televisions, radios, local papers, magazines, the internet, and all other sources of information always feature lifestyles that lead to one’s being healthy.

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Examples

• smoke free , power naps, beta-blockers, oven-ready, junk food , lactose intolerant, fast-food, bite-sized, hospital-tested, clinically-proven, scientifically-formulated, medical miracle, pre-cooked, pre-heated, pre-packaged, freeze-dried, double-wrapped, vacuum-packed

Everyday life related discourse units

• Apparently this category has not developed a specialised terminological system and it mostly uses lexical items of the common vocabulary.

• Still, in this area, lexical innovation is not absent and composition is a favoured word-formation process, resulting in solid, hyphenated and separate word compounds.

• Compounds, along with collocations, are particularly prone to maneuvering by creative users, and are often meant to obtain a powerful stylistic impact. Their increasing frequency in our everyday language is encouraged by the unlimited possibilities of composition in modern English.

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Examples

• Millennium, diversified, multi-cultural, post-modern, deconstruction, politically, anatomically, ecologically incorrect, bi-coastal, new wave, old school, a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant, a personal agenda, fashion-forward, love-child, hate mail, trash sports, gender specific, mini-van, slow lane, toll-free

Hip Hop culture related discourse units

• Since its emergence in the 1970’s in New York, more precisely in Bronx, hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the world.

• It has rapidly become a global and globalizing phenomenon of tremendous reach and power.

• Instantiating strong attitudes supported by music beats and lyric wise features, hip hop culture puts forward a way of life which, in a nutshell, can be labeled as revolt against the establishment.

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• From a linguistic point of view, hip hop is characterized by distinctive language varieties such as pidgins, creoles and vernacular, also known by alternate names, such as “black English” or “Ebonics”.

• If hip hop culture sends a message of revolt against or challenge of the system in general, hip hop slang is characterized by a revolt against or challenge of the language labelled by Alim (2006: 11) as “graphologic hiphopgraphy”.

• On the other hand, hip hop slang is characterized by rhythmy-rhymy shocking word associations

Example“I take it slow.

I go with the flow.

I ride with the tide.

I got glide in my stride.

Drivin' and movin',

Sailin' and spinnin',

Jivin' and groovin',

Wailin' and winnin'.

I don't snooze,

So I don't lose.”

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GEOGE CARLIN – MODERN MANhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk_dRzaBoUM