Linguistic journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Linguistic journal - Essay Example Among the reasons are rapid mutation of Danish phonology over the last five decades, children’s ability to learn written English enhanced as a result of absorbing spoken Danish during childhood, the fact that modern Danish language is more mumbled than spoken, and omnipresence of English language in Danish advertisements. Noticing all these signs led Raymond to the conclusion, â€Å"The overall picture I got of Danish was of a language in an extreme stage of phonological degeneration, extremely divergent from its written form, and functionally unnecessary to many of its younger speakers† (Raymond). Raymond then talks about how Maltese language has evolved into Maltenglish over the passage of time, and how he suspects that Danish language will soon become an ethno-tribal museum artifact. It is true that English is a very popular language in Denmark. Popular opinion also holds that almost all Danes speak and understand English at least as well as they do Danish. The reasons Raymond has noted for his suspicion about degeneration of the Danish language are indeed quite weighty. When a language rapidly evolves and changes in phonology in a matter of few decades, it is an alarming sign for its degeneration. One reason for the transition from Danish to English language is that both languages are similar in terms of alphabets, and grammar to an extent. An even more important reason for suspecting degeneration of Danish language is that it is spoken, written, and understood by a very small population based in Denmark whereas English is a much more popular and widely spoken, written, and understood language. Danish language is also very complicated compared to English, not in the way that languages are traditionally complicated. Even more than grammar, it is the pronunciatio n of words in the Danish language that makes it so difficult to speak and