What is language? According to Merriam-Webster’s online encyclopedia, language is defined as “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community”. The most important word that I found in the above definition was “community”. Now what’s a community? Again, I came to the same resource, punched in the word and out came the answer! It said, community means “a group of people with common interests living in a particular area”. Now I got 2 words from here “common” and “particular”. So does it mean that people who are members of a specific community should belong to a particular geographical area? And should they cultivate only similar interests? Then what would you say about English? Without a doubt it’s the lingua franca of our modern era. But even after attaining the status of a global language, is it free from clutters? The answer is No! It’s not. And it doesn’t make a difference to its high status and growing popularity!
Language is like fluid! As fluids take the shape of the containing vessels, a language too adapts itself to the region where it is being spoken. The vernacular dialects of the region exert their influence on the (non-native) language, gradually giving it a distinct shape and identity. The change is dynamic! It leads to varied pronunciations, typical word usage, and articulations. That’s why I find listening to English broadcasts from non-native English speaking countries - Fascinating!
