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Technology threat to language
Published on: 10/29/2009.
THE BARBADOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE (BCC) is concerned about the impact of emerging technologies on the English language.
Speaking at the fifth disbursement of the John Wickham Scholarship yesterday at the BCC, deputy principal Dr Sylvia Hackett said most of those changes were not complementary to the "English language so revered by the late John Wickham".
"When we advance sometimes we have to go back and we have to look at the advances that we make and see where we are losing things and make sure that those things are not lost to us," she stated.
Hackett noted that the college always looked forward to the time of year when the scholarships were awarded, because it meant the reading and writing of English was given prominence.
She was particularly pleased that there was a record six awardees this year.
"We are trying our best to stem the onslaught on the English language . . . We welcome the assistance of the John Wickham scholarship in trying to curb this onslaught," Hackett added.
Executive editor of the NATION Roxanne Gibbs said she was pleased that the number of awardees was increasing every year.
Gibbs noted that the "Senator", as he was fondly referred to, would have been pleased that six students were this year's recipients.
"Those of us who worked with him knew of his passion for excellence and his contribution to the arts, especially literature, he made a great contribution not only to the NATION, but also to the nation as a whole," Gibbs said as she encouraged the awardees to do some research on Wickham.
Speaking on behalf of the awardees, Lashonna Andrews said they were proud to be among the elite group of scholarship winners. The scholarship was launched in 2004 to honour the late NATION columnist John Wickham.
Students of literature who achieve a grade point average of 3.50 or higher are eligible for the scholarship. One male and five females qualified for the scholarship this year.
The 2009 awardees are: Lashona Andrews, Mercedes Antrobus, Alicia Haynes, Chloe Noel, Katherine O'Brien and Rico Went. (YB)
7 comment found!
what threat? : 11/5/2009
This article is poor. It does not state exactly how Technolygy is a threat to the language. Shouldn't the article have something to do with it's title?
Changes : 11/2/2009
Everything changes eventually, we no longer use slates int he class room and with the ever growing technology, the computer keyboard will soon take over eliminating paper and pen/pencil and also the change of words. We must roll with the tides.
Really Vague : 11/1/2009
I read the article, and thought that I would see something about how technology was threatening English Language. Instead the article told me about the 'Scholarship' and the 'Awardees'. I guess English Language is threatened by more than technology.
Change in English language : 10/30/2009
Anyone who has studied more than one language comes to the slow realization that English is derived of many old world languages, namely French and Germanic English, therefore Englishof itself has not fully evolved into its own gene. Why is there such a concern, surely we are no longer speaking old world English..hence and therefore is no longer a part of daily conversation neither is henceforth and whereforth...English has evolved from the 1300' - 1900' and now in the 21st century it will continue to evolve.. the solution is to move the changes.. American english is now accepted as standard english alongside UK English and in some cases replaced it.. in French speaking Africa the teachers there are concerned that the youth have developed a new FrancoisAnglish language, fusing French and English in one statement.. Evolution of Language is nothing new..
A bit vague : 10/30/2009
Exactly how is emerging technology a threat to language? Properly planned and deployed, emerging technology can enhance language learning. There are tons of learning resources online and several ways computer systems help persons to compose with better spelling and grammar. I hope Dr. Hackett's comments were better constructed than what this article reports. However, one certain problem is the volume of under-educated persons who populate the online landscape and douse it with their under-developed language skills which most certainly resulted from failings of their early schooling.
Technology threat : 10/29/2009
We have always advanced, have we not? we at times revisit the King James version of the Bible but the language have evolved. some time in the future they will look back at the language before the age of high technology.
Change Will Come : 10/29/2009
Any educated person knows that languages change all the time. Language is not fixed and constantly evolves to meet the needs of its users. Nuff said.
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