“Everybody owns English now. If you have taken the trouble to learn it, and if you are in a country where it has a significant presence, then you have rights in it.”
From South African English to Singaporean English, many varieties of English exist. But how are these variations shaping the evolution of the language? And as technology continues to bring us all closer together, will we eventually see all of these varieties converge?
David Crystal is a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster, who has written over 100 books on the English language. In this episode he explores the question of ownership - can any one country lay claim to the language anymore? He discusses whether it’s likely English will one day lose its status as a global lingua franca. And he explains the inevitability of language change, and why we should embrace it.
Find out more about our sponsor, Chambers here: https://chambers.co.uk/ and sign up to their newsletter: https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1n0iW. Chambers is the number one brand for word lovers! They also are the proud publishers of David Crystal's book written with his son, Ben Crystal, titled 'Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life' which you can find out more about here: https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1sF3i
Your host is polyglot Richard Simcott - find out more about him here: https://speakingfluently.com/
The Language Podcast is an OG Podcasts production: https://ogpodcasts.co.uk/
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