Foreign Influences and the Adaptation of the English Language

The English language, unlike other languages, is considered "the language of the world." While many other languages are valuable, important and widely spoken, acquisition of the English language is becoming an essential skill for success throughout the world. The result is an increased need for English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, an influx of language students to countries where English is the native language and, it would seem only natural, an adaptation of the English language is bound to follow.

Though I am not a linguist or language scholar, my observations within the microcosm of my language school in Manhattan seem to reflect a trend in spoken and written English. English is far from a static language. Foreign influences in the confines of our language have shaped the way many of the ESL teachers communicate. Students from all over the world repeat phrases, words, expressions and idioms from their native language day after day. It is impossible not to naturally start incorporating them into daily speech.

I teach a high-level grammar class and a high-level conversation class. The assumption is that I would be an expert speaker of English. Shockingly, since teaching ESL, my friends constantly comment on my bizarre word order, odd phrasing, British-isms and complete "foreignization" of my native language. Sentences like "I've been to Italy two times" become "I've been two times to Italy." I no longer talk about my days in college, but rather I speak of my time "in university." I often refer to my height, weight and temperature first in the English system, then immediately after, I repeat it in the metric system, even when speaking to other Americans.

One main reason for my bizarre uses of the English language is the fact that 90% of my day is spent talking to non-native speakers. At work I am only in contact with students and other ESL teachers, and after work, I live in New York City, so I am immersed among many other languages as well. When speaking to students during class, I am always careful to use the most correct English. I correct their mistakes, and am careful to make any of my own. However, after class at a pub, talking on the internet or sending an email to students is not the time nor place to constantly correct their English. Because we are all relatively the same age, we spend a lot of time fostering cross-cultural friendships outside of the classroom. The result is that a quick email or text message to a cell phone is better written in incorrect English to be sure my message is understood. I typically think of how the student would word a phrase, then type accordingly. If I type in correct English, oftentimes my message is misunderstood, and I have to repeat myself many, many times.

It's interesting when I engage in conversation with native-speakers. I sometimes go days at a time without having an extended conversation with a native speaker. Consequently, when I do talk to a native speaker, I forget that they are native speakers and I find myself talking slower, using more gestures, repeating myself to reinforce points and even using incorrect English to try to be better understood.

Though my observations are limited to one single Manhattan language school, I would speculate that as the number of non-native speakers in the world rapidly becomes comparable to the number of native speakers, we would see a change in the English language. Many people can already argue that these changes are obvious even now, and have been for a long time. People with little exposure to non-native speakers may not see such a rapid change, and maybe the change won't ever trickle out beyond major cosmopolitan areas, but certainly the language is exciting and always changing.