Who owns English?

[Pinay]

The Americans and the British have been debating one issue for ages, "Which is the more authentic 'English', American English or British English?" Globalization however has spawned a kind of 'local English' particular to a country. In the Philippines we have something called taglish (Tagalog-English) or englog (English-Tagalog). The former has more tagalog words in the sentence, for example - Magpapa-perm ako ng hair (I will have my hair permed). The latter has more English words in the sentence - Don't make hintay me, I'll see you later na lang (Don't wait around for me, I'll see you later). Since we say, that language is a communication tool, is it acceptable to use this 'local English' in the business or academic setting in its country of origin? And which type of English is preferred in your country, British or American? Or does it matter?

[ProfessorVerb]

The Americans and the British have been debating one issue for ages, "Which is the more authentic 'English', American English or British English?" Globalization however has spawned a kind of 'local English' particular to a country. In the Philippines we have something called taglish (Tagalog-English) or englog (English-Tagalog). The former has more tagalog words in the sentence, for example - Magpapa-perm ako ng hair (I will have my hair permed). The latter has more English words in the sentence - Don't make hintay me, I'll see you later na lang (Don't wait around for me, I'll see you later). Since we say, that language is a communication tool, is it acceptable to use this 'local English' in the business or academic setting in its country of origin? And which type of English is preferred in your country, British or American? Or does it matter?

Americans are at the point now where we will try to understand any version of English just so we won't have to learn Spanish. According to the encycopedic entry for "Pidgins and creoles":

Some specialized languages were developed to keep the outsider at bay. In other circumstances, languages have been deliberately created to facilitate communication with outsiders. This happens when people speaking two different languages have to work together, usually in some form of trade relation or administrative routine. In such situations the so-called pidgins arise, more or less purposively made up of vocabulary items from each language, with mutual abandonment of grammatical complexities that would cause confusion to either party. Pidgins have been particularly associated with areas settled by European traders; examples have been Chinook Jargon, a lingua franca based on an American Indian language and English and formerly used in Washington and Oregon, and Beach-la-mar, an English-based pidgin of parts of the South Seas.

Sometimes, as the result of relatively permanent settlement and the intermixture of two speech communities, a pidgin becomes the first language, or mother tongue, of later generations, ultimately displacing both the original languages. First languages arising in this way from artificially created pidgins are called creoles. Notable among creoles is the language of Haiti, Haitian Creole, built up from the French of the settlers and the African language of the former slaves; it shows lexical and grammatical features of both sources.

Creoles differ from pidgins in that, as first languages, they are subject to the natural processes of change like any other language; and, despite the deliberately simplified form of the original pidgin, in the course of generations creoles develop their own complexities. The reason is plain to see. The restricted uses to which pidgins were first put and for which they were devised did not require any great flexibility. Once such a language becomes the first or only language of many people, it must perforce acquire the resources (i.e., the complexity) to respond adequately to all the requirements of a natural language.

[Pinay]

So as long as it is able to accomodate the complexities of human life, then this 'local English' is acceptable as a communication tool in its country of origin then? There's Singglish (Singaporean-English), Konglish (Korean-English) and Jaglish (Japanese-English), among others...

[MissLT]

So as long as it is able to accomodate the complexities of human life, then this 'local English' is acceptable as a communication tool in its country of origin then? There's Singglish (Singaporean-English), Konglish (Korean-English) and Jaglish (Japanese-English), among others...

Well, if you all understand one another, then why not? We created the language, not the other way around. However, don't mix it up with the standards grammar when you're communicating with people from other English countries. They might not be able to understand you.

[ProfessorVerb]

I would like to add that I own English, and you all owe me a dollar. Paypal is preferred.

[Dixie]

I would like to add that I own English, and you all owe me a dollar. Paypal is preferred.

[MissLT]

I would like to add that I own English, and you all owe me a dollar. Paypal is preferred.

No cash? And you're a cheapest tutor ever. All of us only owe you a dollar . Let's see.. we have 8775 registered users and only about 50 people regularly visit and post at the board, so 2 cents for each. Heheheheheh...