The state of the English language is to be lamented, with its beauty lying dead at the altar of speed and modern living
FEW people recognize the fact that words can smell as sweet as fresh roses. The purity and richness of their smell can open the gates of inspiration and exhilaration for those endowed with the love of the beautiful. Words rich in meaning and carefully chosen for a particular context do not just embellish the settings, they essentially create a musicality of their own that inspires far beyond their immediate context.
It is the art of knowing and understanding the shades, hues and subtle nuances of words and phrases that a purist of language is concerned with. It is a pity, however, that nowadays very few people seem to care about the aesthetic aspect of language. The world is moving ahead at a blood-curdling speed and everybody is in an eternal hurry to get things done. Language, as a consequence, is now only treated as a tool to prepare the ground for things that are thought to be of much greater value.
Everything seems to have a price tag attached to it these days. Some things, of course, have a greater value than others. Most people, including the very highly ‘educated’, think it a sheer waste of time and effort to be worrying about making their speech aesthetically appealing. Why should they do it unless, of course, it is of some value!
Modern English language is perhaps as un-aesthetic as it could get. There was a time when the English people used to be proud of their language and would not allow any kind of adulteration or corruption to creep in from any direction. They would determine a person’s level of respectability by judging them from their speech. In order to pass as a well-educated, well brought up gentleman (or lady!) one had to have the art of articulate and refined speech.
Whatever has happened to those standards? Now there are as many versions of the English language as there are varieties of French cheese! The Americans, of course, have their own language which may be called anything but English. One shouldn’t be surprised to know that taps are called ‘faucets’ or biscuits are known as ‘cookies’ in America. Similarly, we have no reason to complain when they spell and pronounce certain words in a different way. After all, America is a free country with absolute freedom of speech! Just imagine that the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ in the title of a Harry Potter book was changed into the ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ in its American edition. You might feel like banging your head against a brick wall trying to find a connection between a philosopher and a sorcerer but nothing in the world can take away the right of the Americans to call things the way they choose to call them!
It is, however, mind-boggling when some English people begin to accept and even use the American-tailored words and expressions as their own. Watch the BBC World for a few minutes for a quick check. Just sit back and see how some of the very talented reporters and presenters pronounce ‘either’ (aither) as eether, or ‘schedule’ (shedule) as skedule and so on.
In any case, most English people do not feel the need to strain themselves to make their language aesthetically appealing. The callings of the modern competitive environment and the rapid commercialisation of every aspect of life have indeed taken their toll even on the British society and culture. Of course there are still many purists of language around who insist on giving the English language due respect but, unfortunately, they are now treated with utter disdain by the champions of modern ways of life.
‘Who has the time to consider and weigh every word and expression when you could perfectly do without it?’ argue those for whom language is just a means of communication. Sadly, even students of English language are unwilling to go into the aesthetic details of the language. It could be partly because they probably have no capable teachers to acquaint them with some of the fascinating and profound aspects of English language, or any language for that matter.
The problem of bastardisation (please excuse the expression, but sadly, this is what it is) of the English language is more acute in countries like Pakistan where it is only taught as a second language. We hear, and even read, all sorts of Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi expressions most horrendously integrated into the English sentence structure. This is probably the worst crime that can possibly be committed against any language on earth. Few people learn English in our country for the love of learning the language; most of them learn it because they need to know it to specialise in other subjects.
Ironically, the very same people, along with others, consider it a hallmark of excellence and superiority to be able to communicate in English. It is very heartening indeed to see far more English speakers in this country than there have been ever before. One cannot miss the numerous posh-looking institutes claiming to teach perfect English within a certain period of time. They charge a hefty amount of money to help Anglicise (actually, Americanise, and in most cases ‘Pakistanise’) the accents of their enthusiastic ‘pupils’.
In fact, there is a whole crop of English language speakers here that have truly ‘Pakistanised’ the language. You see and hear them ordering a glass of ‘waater’, seeking ‘occayyans’ ‘far’ their ‘playyar’ and talking about ‘maadren’ ways of life. Much greater irony lies in the fact that even some of the teachers of English language and literature are driven by the same tendency to change the nationality of this wretched language!
An incredible number of English-medium schools and professional institutes have also surfaced to give ‘education’ to the affluent classes of our society. Their products speak and understand (of course!) what they naively think is English, but in fact there is very little of English to be gathered from their speech. The wealthy youth of our country, consequently, is proud to speak ‘English’ very fluently. Speed indeed is of the essence: the quicker you speak in English the more educated and intelligent you are, or so everyone seems to think.
One dreads to recount the accents and pronunciations in which English is spoken around us. Slang words and idioms are as ubiquitous as MacDonald’s and Coke. Words like ‘shit’ if used could trigger cardiac arrests in good society. Not any more: there are no more chicken-hearted people around! Thanks largely to the American culture spread via Hollywood and MTV, ‘shit’ is perhaps the most commonly used word even on the most benign occasions such as a dinner party, a wedding banquet or a rendezvous with one’s girl friend. The point to consider is that such words and expressions do not shock anyone any longer.
One must never forget that language is only a reflection of the social state of affairs. Elegance of speech comes with elegance of thought and manners. The reason for the degeneration of language is, therefore, not hard to seek. It comes from lack of refinement in life around us. It is insane to be seeking celestial pleasure in dark and stinking dungeons. Materialism binds us so tightly to earth that all the sublime aspects of life have become utterly inaccessible to us.
Is it any wonder, then, that we have no Shakespeare, Flaubert, Tolstoy or Ghalib anywhere around us? Good literature is impossible in shallow societies. Literature is born of sensitivity, vision and profundity of thought. Above all, it is a product of refined expression inspired by an acute sense of beauty. Abandon all hope of ever seeing fresh masterpieces of literature as long as societies recognise speed as the essence of efficiency.
The state of the English language is to be lamented, with its beauty lying dead at the altar of speed and modern living 
