Did you know that over 6500 languages are spoken around the world? This is a huge number and as you can imagine, some – like English and Mandarin – are spoken by millions of people while others are used by fewer than a thousand people.
In the UK, English is not the only language spoken – Welsh is spoken widely in Wales and there are still many Gaelic speakers in Scotland. Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, has around 800 different languages and India has almost as many.
But, as the Internet spreads information and culture around the globe, everything seems to become more standardised – even the use of language. Although the number of people speaking English is expanding all the time, many minor languages face extinction. It’s estimated that one goes out of use every fortnight! India, for example, has lost 250 languages in the past 50 years.
So, you can see why it is so useful to be able to speak English fluently if you want to be understood world wide. But at the same time, cherish your own language. It’s a wonderful part of your culture and heritage – something that should not be allowed to disappear without a fight.
But it’s not just about the language you speak, but also the ‘register’ that you use. You speak to your friends in a certain way, you may speak to your family in a different way and I’m pretty certain you address your boss or customers and clients in a more formal way. In England we refer to someone using their ‘telephone voice’. This means they put on a special ‘posh’ voice when answering the telephone!
That’s spoken English for you, but there’s also written English. The slang and shortcuts you use with friends is a lot different to the formal English you use in business letters and reports – or at least I hope it is!
And it’s essential that in both written and spoken English you can adapt yourself to any circumstances – you’ve need to be like a chameleon. But before you can do that you’ve got to have a firm grasp of the language in the first place.
Author: Diana Nadin
