"Varieties of English" have emerged due to historical, geographical and social influences of particular environments. Some varieties are tangents away from what society highly values as being "correct". Yet are not 'incorrect' per se, just, different. Let's take a look at some of the variables producing the varieties.
Over the years of history, vocabulary and grammar have changed. Harkening back to the 1600's, for instance, vocabulary was peppered with 'thee's' and 'thou's'; '-eth's' such as 'loveth' and 'cometh'; 'shalt' instead of 'shall' and were the then norm of standard language.
Written works of that time reflected the oral communication. Peruse some excerpts from the King James Version Bible's preface. "For whereas it was the expectation of many, who wished not well unto our Scion..." or "Then not to suffer this to fall to the ground...nay, to go forward." Reading along further, "their eye doth behold You with comfort..." and "every day increaseth and taketh strength" is very delicious literary style and wordage.
Shakespeare lived in the mid-1500's to early 1600's. His language was similar but likely difficult for present day deciphering. An easier specimen noted from Romeo and Juliet, would be "Wherefore art thou..." or "Gregory: But thou aren't quickly moved to strike."; from Mac Beth, "Duncan-"so well thy words become thee as thy wounds" and from the "First Witch" "Where hast thou been, sister?" This is such a fascinating display of archaic language; by today's standards, that is.
Moving on to Mother's generation, 'gay' meant "happy and carefree"; that compared to what it refers to today. The word 'awesome' no longer describes God and His unique handiwork but is bandied about by teenagers to describe, for example, how they may feel about a peer's green hair! Such morph-ing of words comes in and out of fashion with one generation to the next.
In more recent history, the age of computers has expropriated a lorry load of vocabulary from traditional usage. A 'virus' used to be a human sickness; a byte (bite) once meant to take a chunk of food with one's teeth; a cursor (er) was likely one who cursed a lot; "the net" was what one fished with while "the web" was a spider's home. All those to name a few.
Colonization has left an indelible language mark upon their conquests. English got "spread" to a new country or location, the locals added their 'flavor'; infusing some of their own foreign words, accents and pronunciations into the concoction.
Even within the geography of a country where English is the national language, eg. USA, there are variations thereof. This usually depends on which part of the country one hales from be it a southern drawl, Brooklyn or New England accents, or from western USA. These divisions can often be further divided into districts or even down to specific villages.
Other times, due to increase in travel and residing in other areas from one's own birthplace, it may be difficult to distinguish where exactly a person may have originated. The traveler having picked up an assortment of vocabulary, grammar, accents and pronunciations from the meanderings flavors his own unique command of English.
The social aspect lends zest to the variety equation. Different classes of people will often use differing vocabulary and grammar. To say, "I ain't got no..." may well be looked upon with disdain in preference for, "I haven't got any...".
Accent and pronunciation often reflect social position with upper class folks speaking the "better variety". Think of, was it Eliza, the Cockney lady, in My Fair Lady being trained to parrot, "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain." with a more "standard", acceptable norm.
In conclusion, the varieties of English have ebbed and flowed since whenever English was birthed. Although English is generally thought to be a "stabilized" language it does continue to change in many varied ways to suit the users in various times and sundry places to aid and abet what language is all about in the first place...communication.
~ERC-2010~
English enjoys worldwide usage today. It is busy being employed by "just about everyone": diplomats; religious leaders; international businessmen; students and entertainers, to name a few.
Take the entertainer (actor) Jackie Chan, for instance. He had stardom in Hong Kong but wished to "reach for the stars" in the USA. Through thick and thin (unless it was part of 'the act') he appears to have made great headway in struggling for some degree of mastery of English. Hence his entertaining career has met with some success on his new acting frontier.
Foreign students wishing to be educated in English-speaking countries must also hone their English to achieve their goal. Economics causes international businessmen to learn English; diplomats and religious leaders to dialogue with it; and even science research largely to engage in its use.
English in its more proper 'standard' form is diminishing however. As more people of the world learn English as a second lg and add in all their respective countries' first language (L1) influence it gets altered and changed sometimes beyond recognition to the native English speaker.
Despite all that, the usage of English is decimating as more people in certain blocks of the world turn to other major languages (lg) in use in those sectors; such as Chinese, Arabic or Spanish regions. They use these lgs for basically the same reasons as English is being utilized in the economic, social, etc areas. All this in time, will lessen the number of users of English and although English usage is still important today, its decline can already be seen.
~ERC 2010~
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English still has a prominent place in the world today. Besides native English speakers, English is the second language (L2) lingua franca of many peoples around the world; it being largely needed for success in the economic, educational and social arenas internationally.
As for the future of English being so necessary---that is debatable. It has been noted that in certain sectors of the world other languages (lg) are coming into major usage.
Since China opened its doors for economic opportunities, businessmen and others are engaging more and more in the use of Mandarin. Thus, a bigger portion of the world is "converting" to Chinese lg usage.
There are also pockets of Chinese in other countries. Take in the USA, for instance, where many individual families still use their native tongue and do not see the need to change to the USA's national lg.
Vancouver, BC, Canada is another example. Large numbers of Cantonese-speaking peoples have moved there; from Hong Kong especially. They have created a "mini-Hong Kong" complete with shopping malls devoted to their own people using their own mother tongue for transactions. The English-speaking native, should she venture onto such turf, feels like the foreigner!
This is similar with blocks of Arab-speaking countries, Hindi sectors, as well as Spanish ones. It is even thought that Spanish may overtake, or at least be as prominent as, English in the USA, making it a Spanish-English bilingual country.
Those peoples who are learning English as an L2 and incorporating their respective countries' idiosyncrasies are changing the face of English. Even today's generation of native English speakers are simplifying English. This is radically seen with the advent of cell phones with all their worse than telegram-like short messaging abbreviations and deviations of spelling and grammar.
It appears then, that although English is still widely used, it's being "watered down" and beginning to take a backseat to other lgs. Therefore in several decades' time English may well NOT be the important 'lingua franca' it once was.
~ERC 2010~
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A global language (lg) is a lg which would be used worldwide. A nice definition thereof is "...it belongs to everyone who speaks it, but it's no one's mother tongue..." so said one chap named Rajagopalan as quoted by Jeremy Harmer in The Practise of English Language Teaching in regard to 'world Englishes'. So saying, a lg that is used in much the same way a pidgin variety functions among the lg communities within a country, functions instead, among the countries of the world and therefore, "belongs to everyone".
Will English be the global lingua franca of the future? English has already made much headway internationally in the realms of diplomacy and economics, for instance. The usage of English may escalate further to some degree as those parts of the world who deem it the global lg begin to become more fluent in English as a second lg.
On the other hand, the increase of English on the global scene is having competition. Other lgs such as Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic and Hindi are closing the gap in their respective blocks of the world. As international businessmen realize this they will arm themselves with those lgs instead and in so doing cast English aside.
Reverting to the other lgs, however, could still limit the users to those particular lg blocks. English seems to be the main link of communication internationally worldwide, for now. Therefore, the race for lg supremacy on the global front may still go in favor of the English language in the immediate, conceivable future.
~ERC 2010~
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Is any one language (lg) better than another? Linguistically speaking, as each lg has its own complete set of syntax, morphology and phonology, no one lg is superior to another. However, if the focus is in connection with the other parts of the world in such terms of economics, information exchange or travel, for example, one would have to answer in the affirmative.
On the home front, within a specific lg community there are dialects that are more preferred than others that are considered that of the more educated. If a person wishes to have social standing within a certain group of society or wants to apply for a better job, for example, their chances of success would be greater having that preferred "lingo of the educated".
Globally, much of the world is presently focusing on China for business and trade; therefore knowledge of the Mandarin lg has become more essential for those individuals or companies who wish greater economic survival, growth and success.
Economics leads, then, to information exchange. The more people know the main lg of the 'target country', the more the information will likely be presented in that particular country's lg; be it, for example, Mandarin in Mandarin-speaking countries, English in English-speaking ones, or Arabic in Arabic-speaking territories. All the better with which to understand each other.
Due to the world's increased interest in China, more tourists are traveling to that destination. Being able to read signs and maps, and having a basic knowledge of Mandarin would greatly assist the traveler in getting about.
In conclusion, English, Mandarin and Arabic have all been mentioned because they have become necessary lgs on the global scene in a more prominent fashion. Thus the increased need of one lg's importance above another. Where the demand is, so will that particular lg take precedence. When viewed in such a manner, then, "Yes!", one lg can be better than another.
~E.R.C. - May 2010~
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Fear not in scary times. The noose is ever tightening around the neck. Freedom, human rights, the "free life in Christ" as we know it, are ever encroached upon; that steadfast, determined solipsism of our belief in, and living out of, God's Word and God's standards, eclipsing us.
We must do this or that. We must not do this or that or the other thing...avoid, avoid, avoid.
Consequences, consequences of non-compliancy. No, I'm not in denial of what is purported to descend upon us. Yes. We must all prepare ourselves. Yes, discretion is the better part of valor. Wisdom and discretion are vital; I agree.
BUT...But must we allow fear and paranoia rule our hearts and minds? Paul tells Timothy that "God hath not given us a spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7-KJV).
Another calming verse calls us to "Let NOT our hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me; Jesus very words! (John 14:1). Jesus was often calming people with His reassuring, "Don't be afraid's" and "fear nots" to the disciples and others who were genuinely alarmed by mind-boggling supernatural events.
We're given a job to do and with it the command from the Lord, "You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do NOT BE AFRAID of them, for I am with you and will rescue you." (Jeremiah 1:7,8-NIV).
A command and an assurance. Let us not let the fear of man cripple us. Let us take courage and declare, "...therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way..." (Psalm 46:2,3-NIV). Our God will deliver us from all our fears (Psalm 34:4-NIV). Take note, deliverance is from our fears, not our circumstances. God could choose to change the state of affairs we find ourselves in but that's not necessarily what He promises. (That's another whole topic on it's own...suffice it to say, we learn and grow from our trials, tribulations and circumstances if we let Him.)
There is a type of fear sanctioned and beneficial, that is, the "fear of the Lord" which is the beginning of wisdom. Who doesn't want to be wise? Fear the Lord. Serve Him. Give Him glory.
Let us stand bold in Christ and claim our inheritance from the Lord. He says in Psalm 2:8, "Ask of Me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession."
Joshua of the Old Testament (OT) times was to lead the multitude of Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan. He was told to be "strong and courageous". That land, at that time, was still in enemy hands. They had to fight for it in up close and dangerous combat.
When they did fight, inch-by-inch; step-by-step, God gave them that much ground. Everyday they had to go out and do it all over again. Gaining that ground little by little, was not an easy feat. Joshua 3:1 tells us, "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised.."
If they had let fear overcome them, paralyzing them from the scary battles, they would get nothing. So in faith, and in fear of God, they marched forward, and claimed the Promised Land as their inheritance (Lev. 20:24). All the nations around them were to be blessed by the Israelites because of the Israelites obedience, strength and courage in their Almighty God.
Similarly, we can claim these promises when we "fear not". When we are strong and courageous as Galations 3:8 announces, we will be a blessing to others, and be blessed right along with our ancient ancestor Abraham.
"Let us resolutely ask for spiritually "enlarged borders" (Isaiah 54:2-NIV) and for our inheritance in the land in which we find ourselves and that, despite the current situation. Let this be our inheritance to offer to our God. Let us ask God. He will give graciously and generously.
Put fear aside. Pray. Ask. Confuse, confound, put into chaos the wiles of the devil. Do not accept or be accepting of that which is contrary to our Lord; of that which wants to be instituted over the general populace.
Submit to God. Resist evil and the evil one perpetuating the "take over" of our souls and godly lifestyle (James 4:7 NIV). Let us live our lives to please our Heavenly Lord and Master, Jesus Christ through His Word and His Holy Spirit's leading and guiding every step of the way living purposeful, pure lives according to God's standards being a good testimony and witness for Him, 'til He comes.
Fear NOT in these scary times. Let it be said of us that we too have blessed those who live around us due to our obedience to uphold God and His standards, "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15-NIV). Little bit by little bit, claim your inheritance for Almighty God.
~ERC 2015~
Q2. Is it necessary to continue to follow and believe in Jesus and the teachings of the Bible once we have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord? Why?
A2. It is definitely necessary to continue to follow and believe the teachings of the Bible once we have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. If we do not it boils down to having made Jesus our Savior but not Lord of our life.
We are exhorted to become more like Christ, to become holy as He is holy. Therefore we must allow God's Word and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the way of our Lord.
Since we have been "set free from sin" and "have become slaves to righteousness" (Romans 6:18) we will be compelled by the Holy Spirit to make Jesus our Lord and Master as He is the Righteous One. Our minds need to grasp this fact that Jesus is now our Master --the Lord of our life--our Commanding Officer.
Jesus is not a harsh taskmaster but the ever loving One. In fact, due to His love for us, and all He has done for us because of that love, out of the gratitude of our hearts, we will instinctively live His way in response to His loving deeds for us.
When tracing the New Testament (NT) from Romans, all through the epistles and Revelation, this love for us, His children, is very prominent and inspires humble obeisance towards Him and a welling up of wanting to love Him back. When we realize this we will be impelled to become holy, living sacrifices devoted to Him. We will be committed to live circumspectly, sincerely for Jesus, our Lord and Master whom we must put on the throne of our heart.
We often lose sight of God's love thus the many Scripture verses of exhortation. As Joyce Meyer* says in her book Battlefield of the Mind, "Our minds are not born again with the New Birth experience--they have to be renewed". (Romans 12:2) We need to stuff our minds with God's Word, meditate upon it, so we will be energized to understand and re-train/renew our minds to live it out.
Christians are "predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His (God's) Son (Romans 8:29). They have been "washed, sanctified, justified in the Name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit" ( 1 Cor. 6:11). We have not been left entirely to our own devices in our process of becoming holy and like Christ in that constant renewal of our minds.
When we attune our minds to the blessings we have in Christ--what He accomplished for us by His death and resurrection we will be more able to live for Him. Galations 5:1 tells us Christ set us free from the yoke of slavery to the law and sin. We are free!! But we must stand firm in our faith.
God chose us to be holy and blameless (Eph. 1:3-4). "He saved us and called us to a holy life" (2 Tim 1:9,10). He chose us "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit"; chosen "for obedience to Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 1:2).
Again, Jesus purifies us from all sin and unrighteousness and has forgiven it. He made us slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18). The assurance that "God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), leaves us little room for excuse not to follow and believe in Jesus and His teachings everyday of our Christian lives until He comes for us.
Some folks may think, "I'm saved and have eternal life so I'm very safe. That's good enough for me. I'm 'free' therefore I can live as I please." A believer's freedom did not come cheaply. It was not cheap grace...a man had to die. That man was Jesus Christ (1 Cor 10:23, 24, 31-33). We need to be God-pleasers and make Jesus, Lord of our life, to become, in our minds and actions, the bond servants of Jesus Christ. We are free, yes; free to do God's will.
Romans 6:1-4, 11-16, 22-23 verses are excellent on this thought. "What shall I say then, shall I go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!....in order that ...we too may live a new life...you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness...slaves to God."
If one boy hits another but then says he is sorry and apologizes and the other boy forgives the hitter, that does not entitle the hitter to continue to hit. The other boy surely won't like it and will run out of patience and good will. We too should not take God and His gift for granted (He won't lose patience with us and 'unfriend us' but we will not be satisfied in our hearts).
This train of thought leads to God's desire for us to be holy because He is holy, indeed as said earlier, He 'chose us to be holy and blameless" (Eph 1:3, 4). Indeed we are encouraged to "NOT conform to the evil desires" we had "when we lived in ignorance" (1 Peter 1:13-15). We are to "present ourselves to God as approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed" (2 Timothy 2:15, 19). "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
Our love for God will be the key to obeying His commands (1 John 5:2-3, 5). We will be eager to do what is good (Titus 2:13, 14) and not feel grudgingly obliged to do what pleases Him. Doing what pleases Him is a sign to ourselves and others that we belong to Him (1 John 3:21-24). A natural outflow of being born of God is not to continue to sin(1 John 3:9).
God's people must build themselves up...in faith and keep themselves in God's love...(Jude 20, 21). As they do this they will learn more of what pleases God; become more sensitive to His will and in so doing, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in us will progress.
Our every effort will pay off...to our faith will be added goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. As these increase in measure (2 Peter 1:5-9) our hearts will be set apart for Christ and Lord." Our consciences will be clear and good towards God and allow Him to be Master and Lord of more and more of ourselves.
Helping ourselves towards the goal of a good conscience we can examine and test ourselves to see if there is anything wrong. The Spirit of wisdom and revelation will aid us. We have confidence that when "we confess our sins, that God is faithful and just and will forgive us of those sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
This does not mean that this life is without struggle. We are human beings, not divine, yet that is not an "easy-out" excuse for us to sin either. "God has created us in Jesus to do good works, and gave us the seal of the Holy Spirit" (Eph 2:6-10). God has made us righteous in His sight yet we still need to be holy in our own sight and in the sight of others.
Besides our own self-confession to the Lord, we can confess to our brothers and sisters in Christ (James 5:16). We can also pray and "aim for perfection" as we examine ourselves (2 Cor 13:5, 7, 9-11). We will never be totally perfect, blameless or holy as our Father, God, is, but we must aim for it.
The consequence of this is so we will be clear minded and self-controlled allowing us to pray (1 Peter 4:7). So we can devote ourselves to prayer (Col 4:2-6). To be so righteous that our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16). Jesus will not be ashamed to call us brothers (Heb 2:10, 11; 2 Thess 1:11).
Living this life God has created for us, we will be a witness to the glory of God; we will 'give Him face' and draw others to Christ (Eph 2:6-10; 2 Tim 4:15-16). This is part of our 'job'. This not only by our isolated selves but as each believer is made ever more holy, and we gather together collectively as the church of God, we are a witness to the "rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms" (Eph 3:10-11); a force for God with which to reckon.
In the book of Romans, we who have accepted Christ as Savior are seen as justified in God's eyes. However, man cannot see our mind and heart, so the book of James emphasizes our deeds, good deeds, so that we are "justified" in the eyes of men. We did not earn salvation by doing good works but were saved to do them. We were designed for good works; a purpose for our salvation (James 2:14, 17). James 3 and 4 show us many examples of the good deeds we can and should set our minds and hands to be doing. That faith that is there first, produces these actions: helping the poor, widows, or orphans; holy living; taming the tongue; not coveting and more. These are all practical aspects of Christian faith; faith in action.
Let us devote ourselves to these (Titus 3:5-8), walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:2-3, 6). Let us give joy to the Lord as we walk in faithfulness to the truth (3 John 3, 4) believing wholeheartedly in Him. We will be blessed as we keep the words of God's prophecy (BIBLE), making Jesus our Lord and Master as well as Savior, running the good race that was set out for us until we hear God's "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Rev. 22:7, 12-14). Amen.
22 July 2013
*Note: I do not subscribe to all of Joyce Meyer's teachings. Some are good but ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern aright what is according to the teachings in God's Word.
