Soon we may not understand what is being said in English

Judging by the type and number of words entering the Oxford Dictionaries — which focuses on words people use currently and how they do so, rather than the more staid and archival Oxford English Dictionary (OED) — soon we may not understand what is being said at all. Arguably, jargon also achieves that by leaving all but the initiated in total incomprehension, but if normal everyday patois also moves in the same direction, the future of universal verbal communication in simple English appears to hang in the balance. This sustained flood of new words is a consequence of an increasingly networked world, wherein the coining of neologisms and adaptations from other languages and cultures happen with unprecedented ease. But there is a concurrent danger of diluting the original language beyond recognition.

That is not to say English is not enriched by such evocative words as awesomesauce, manspreading and brain fart, but they do appear to be blurring, if not obliterating, the line between standard and slang. The arbiters of such additions should spare a thought for those millions for whom speaking English has to be an acquired skill. Barely will they catch their breath after internalising common English posers like truculence and anemone that they will need to mug up microaggression and meeple. Slow down!