Language Changes in Beowulf Essay Example

The creation of the English language was derived from thousands of scripts that have been used by prior generations. The movement of people and language caused a combination within one another which has given birth to the English language. Emerged from Latin, French, Dutch, and Afrikaans, English has become a combination of languages and cultures from throughout the world. In the last couple of years, changes in ways of travel and communication have radically revised the English language we speak today. The words and phrases that we speak today will be transformed at a rate that we have never seen before due to the increased ease of communication due to social media. The novel Beowulf presents the combination of different languages and cultures as the words and phrases written are from different origins. The movement of people, influence from social media, and further advancements of technology has transformed the English language and will continue to do so in the future.

Many words and phrases from Old English have been scribed from a combination of different languages and cultures. The creation of Old English concurred at the same time when German, Dutch, and Swedish natives had migrated to England. The English natives were Celtics who spoke Gaelic which is why we see the mix of both German and Gaelic in Old English. A prime example of the fusion of these two languages is in the epic poem Beowulf which is written in Old English but also includes Latin, French, German, and Gaelic. One example from Beowulf is the following, “Fin Hengeste elne unfitme” (Heaney, 74); the word Hengeste originates from the German word Hengist which means horse but then uses Gaelic ending este, creating an Old English word from both German and Gaelic. The migration of the Germanic people had caused this exchange between the Celtic language and the German language causing the formation of words like Hengeste which include pieces of both languages. The movement of people from different regions caused a sharing of both cultures and languages creating a brand new language that shares both cultures and combines both of their languages.

In the last two decades, we have seen some radical changes in the way society communicates with one another. Methods such as texting and social media have altered the way we spell and represent words from the English language. Steffanie Zaxulak a professor from Pearson stated, “The rise in popularity of internet slang has seen phrases such as “LOL” (Laugh Out Loud), “YOLO” (You Only Live Once), and “bae” (an abbreviated form of babe or baby) become firmly embedded in the English language over the past ten years” (Zaxulak). Popular slang words that have been shared throughout social media and used during text messaging have provided an alternative to the words and phrases we use in the English language. Other alternatives such as emojis are also used to represent emotional words such as laughing and crying. The transformation of how society communicates with one another has drastically changed the way words in the English language are represented. 

 As time continues society will find new advancements in technology which also means new ways of communication. Ways like sending your thoughts from your brain to another using English but without looking at or even hearing it at all. Networking our brains together will create this new internet of brains rather than a connection of electronic devices that we have today. Robert Martone, a journalist for Scientific American wrote this about brain-to-brain communication; “There are capabilities of a biological supercomputer of networked human brains. Such a network could enable people to work across language barriers. It could provide those whose ability to communicate is impaired with a new means of doing so.” (Martone). This new way of communication can allow people who don’t have the availability to communicate English by speaking or seeing to be able to by using brain-to-brain communication. New advancements in technology will create new ways of representing and expressing English and will also create new terms for them as well. As time continues we will find ways to represent English other than just talking and seeing it we will be able to feel English via our brain senses. We are still unaware of which other advancements will change the way English will be used but as seen in history while time continues the English language also changes with it.    

The movement of people, influence from social media, and further advancements of technology will or have changed English. When the Germanic natives moved from their area to the Celtic area it caused a fusion of the two languages giving birth to English. From the rise of the internet and social media new slang terms as well as emojis have been created to substitute and represent words from the English language. As time proceeds, there will be new technological advancements that will change the way the English language is communicated and represented as well. As time continues the English language will also evolve with it, creating new phrases and terms. To sum up, different languages and cultures combine and share common grounds; it will cause different fusions with one another.