Greek and Chinese Philosophy

Danial Shahbaz

Mr. Mayers

English 96

September 21, 2007

Communication

"Phir oose bataadoo ke your fine? Yaan oose bataaoo ke your sick? Theek hai, I will not say a thing."

One may take a look at the first couple of words and say to themselves, "what in the world is this?", but realizing it has English words, one can decipher what the sentence is proclaiming. The quote stated is an example of the hybrid language, Urduish, a combination of Urdu and English. The quote means, "Should I tell him your fine? Or should I tell him your sick? All right, I will not say a thing." Some people believe that the mixing of languages such as this, leads to the end of purification of a language. However, are languages not mixtures of other languages? Are they not derived from those languages? Thus, how can a language be given the status of pure, when truly it is not. Therefore, all the terms defining a genre of language, such as dialect, slang, colonial-language, or post-colonial language, and hybrid language are representations of mixed, language.

Today, hybrid languages are thought to be threats to the purity of any language. A hybrid language is the combination of two languages to form a means of communication. Probably the most common hybrid language in California today, is Spanglish, a combination of Spanish and English. Some linguists believe that hybrid languages are a threat because the amalgamation of a language leads to the end of the single language's purity, or even the extinction of the language itself. But by definition, what is a language? A "language is defined as an official body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition" (dictionary.com). Or in simpler words, it is a system of communication between people who comprehend the specific form utilized. Once again, if a language is derived from other languages, then how is it pure? How may one define purity of a language, when most languages to date are mixed languages made official? For instance, take the English language, which is derived from Arabic, French, Latin, and some Greek. How can the English language, also known as the international language, be defined as pure when the body of words used to communicate, come from a variety of languages. Or for example, many French believe their pure language is being eradicated by mixing English in with French(Blume). Do the French not know that their language is not pure at all, because, more than half the vocabulary they use is obtained from Arabic?

Some researchers in the United States today believe hybrid languages are becoming a necessity to daily life because due to the vast immigrant population, almost half the population is bilingual and therefore, many bilinguals combine the languages they communicate in. Take for example a school with a diverse student population. People of each ethnicity, if put together will not only converse in English, but will seek this as an opportunity to converse in their native tongue. I, myself, believe that, today in this world, it is almost mandatory to be bilingual. One