Future-speak
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`The book is a compact perspective on global language trends and is futuristic in the points it raises.'
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PROF. DAVID CRYSTAL, OBE, needs no introduction, being one of the world's foremost authorities on reference publishing and on language. A writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster of international repute, he became known chiefly for his research work and academic career in English language studies, in such fields as intonation and stylistics, and in the application of linguistics to religious, educational and clinical contexts. Some of his recent books include Shakespeare's Words (with his son Ben), The Language Revolution and A Glossary of Netspeak and Textspeak.
Exciting times
Crystal was in Chennai last year, as part of a two-week India tour, and when asked whether he was as excited by language now as he was when he started his career in the 1960s said: "The answer has to be yes. Even more excited than I was in the 1960s. And the reason is, so much has happened in the last 10 years that makes it a completely different linguistic world to live in. Three big trends took place in the 1990s. The first was English became a global language and it is the first time that a language has become truly global, and for linguists this is very exciting because of what happens to a language when it becomes global. Nobody knows. There hasn't been one before.
"The second thing was the disastrous crisis affecting the languages of the world; half of the world's languages are so seriously endangered that they are likely to die out in the century. And then the third thing was the arrival of the Internet. And that has completely revolutionised all our previous concepts to do with language. So add these three arguments together and there is no more exciting time ever in the history of linguistics, I think."
This sets the tenor to approaching the book, which, in its first Indian reprint (2005), looks at in order: "The Future of Englishes", "The Future of Languages", "The Role of the Internet", "After the Revolution", and "Language Themes for the Twenty-First Century".
In the first chapter, Crystal examines the present context, the past — and more importantly, the 10 domains in which English has become predominant (Politics, Economics, The Press, Advertising, Broadcasting, Motion Pictures, Popular Music, International Travel and Safety, Education and Communications) — and the future. "English," says the professor, "is a vacuum-cleaner of a language... ", and suggests that we may end up in a situation where there is an English "family of languages", the reference being to varieties like Japlish, Spanglish, Chinglish, Denglish (Deutsch English), Wenglish (Welsh English) and many more. He then draws a parallel between the situations of English and Latin. Rather than being a case of fragmentation, it seems to be a case of expansion, he says, as "we are also likely to see a first language speaker of English become "tri-dialectal or triglossic". He then poses questions on the likely dominance of a language within a country and its implications.
Documenting languages
The focal point of Chapter two is on how a spoken language leaves no archaeology and, as a result, when a language "which has never been documented dies, it is as if it has never been". Thus, of the 6,000 or so languages of the world, it is likely that about half of these will vanish soon. In other words, it is about a language every two weeks. This may also have to do with the point that 96 per cent of the world's languages are spoken by just four per cent of the people. But why bother? When asked this in Chennai, Crystal's answer was that, "Every language is a vision of the world, and the more we can preserve of linguistic diversity, the better for the intellectual health of mankind. It is exactly the same argument as preserving the ecology of the world. Everybody would agree that it is a fundamental good to preserve ecological diversity. And the same point applies for languages."
Crystal also highlights the energies involved in saving languages, and, more importantly, the role of the arts and the Internet. (At this point we have to ask ourselves how many of us remembered February 21, International Mother Language Day, or September 26, World Language Day).
A new force
"The Role of the Internet" (Chapter three) looks at the third element of the revolution — the Internet, a detailed look at computer mediated communication, or Netspeak (pp.72 - 86), Internet graphology and the fundamental building block of the Internet, the hypertext link. Crystal also touches upon Internet neologisms.
What captures the attention here is how many languages have a cyber presence. Here, Crystal draws on personal experience where, at a site called World Language Resources, he found listed products for 728 languages. Using such examples, he ends by saying that the web offers a "World Wide Welcome for global linguistic diversity".
The next chapter looks at, among other things, the role of the arts and language. We should, he says, move away from "elbowing a language into a grave" and look at a collaboration between linguistics and the world of arts and media. There should also be a public depository, like the one in the book world, to help save endangered languages.
In the concluding chapter, Crystal outlines a 10-point charter of the "main preoccupations which should be characterising the linguistic mindset of the new millennium". Noteworthy here are points VII and VIII (p.130) when he says we should show greater concern for those having difficulties learning their mother-tongue whether for medical, psychological or other reasons. This is because 10 per cent of the child population can be affected by handicaps in listening, speaking, reading or writing. Also, that there must be both sympathetic understanding and serious research in language pathology as in aphasia and brain damage and its linguistic consequences.
A house of languages
Crystal also uses it to lash out at the establishment and its obsession with the Millennium Dome (The money which was wasted "would have supported `twenty worlds of language'"), and focus on his pet theme — the need to have a House of Languages.
In the interview in Chennai, he detailed how it was a very strong project of his, back in the 1990s, how it was supported by the British Council, and how the idea was to have the world's first ever gallery/ exhibition/museum devoted exclusively to language and languages. "It's nearly 10 years since these ideas were first mentioned, but there still isn't one anywhere in the world. But, it's not a dead concept," he said.
The book is no doubt a compact perspective on global language trends and is futuristic in the points it raises, but what is important is that David Crystal is not a linguistic imperialist and understands that an interconnected world needs a global lingua franca. But most important is that in enabling this cerebral read, Crystal reveals his skill in simplifying what can be considered to be a complex subject.
The Language Revolution, David Crystal, Polity Press Ltd./Foundations Books, (Indian reprint 2005), p.142, Rs. 195.
MURALI N. KRISHNASWAMY
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