are languages developing as fast as before? And what are the process to “officially” add new words to the language?

442 viewsOther

are languages developing as fast as before? And what are the process to “officially” add new words to the language?

In: Other

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

*Existing* languages continue to transform and develop rapidly, and, arguably faster than historically so.

However, the *overall number* of languages and dialects is decreasing rapidly. Somewhere between 1000 and 1500 existing languages are expected to be “lost” (no living speakers) by the end of this century.

If you rule out artificial/fictional/constructed languages (e.g. Klingon, for example) that are rarely spoken outside of particular communities (e.g. *Star Trek* fandom, for example) development of *new* languages is basically non-existent.

All of the above — increasingly rapid development of existing languages, decrease in the overall number of languages spoken, and the dearth of new languages emerging (except as entertainment) — is all attributable to the quickly increasing global connectedness. Language differentiation thrives when cultures are separated from each other; language consolidation happens when different cultures are in frequent communication.

As for “officially” adding words to a language, there’s no such thing.

No one “owns” a language (although some governments try) and while meanings of new words frequently get codified by practices like the creation of dictionaries, writing down a definition *at a point in time* doesn’t really do anything to stop the meaning or usage of existing words from continuing to transform and develop.

And, man, are dictionary publishers thankful for that; otherwise they’d be out of business instead of issuing new editions every few years.

You are viewing 1 out of 6 answers, click here to view all answers.