Mediatization and Linguistic Change: Some musings to ponder

Abstract

Language is subject to change according to the spirit of the age. Accordingly, the present period is one that is closely attuned to the new generation media. Today one could categorize television, internet and the mobile phone as the latest media. These constitute the ‘un-expendable’ amenities/essentials in day-to-day life these days. It could be seen that these media has undoubtedly a power to create a distinct language and culture within each society. This authority exuded by the new gen media is enhanced by the technological backdrop in which they are powered off. Even though technology and media has influenced the language and culture of mankind at all times, the influence of it in the present is unprecedented.

It is interesting that the language of written literature has given way to a specific kind of cyber literature. The internet has been able to digitalize even the orthodox art forms, giving them a different identity. Digital library gave birth to a novel model of dissemination of information. The introduction of ‘unicode font’ breaks through the notion that English is the only language hosted by the net. This font is a mixture of the technical language of the net with that of regional linguistic variations. The different language blogs also point to the vast options in expressing one’s experiences. The flexibility in linguistic use also has given way to the introduction of the ‘globish’ language, which facilitates the most convenient use of English.  This article intends to make an in-depth study of how the linguistic changes that have taken place in our society as a result of mediatization has affected us.