The Lexical Growth and Development of English as a Global LanguageIn part 1 of this two-part article post, we began looking into the sources of new words and lexis in the English language. Singers, songs and songwriters, popular movies and television programs, literature and books, computers, industry and technology, idioms, expressions and slang from colloquial speech have all contributed in their own ways to the lexical growth and development of English as a global language. But wait, there’s more. Here are three additional fountains from which lexical input flows into the English language.o PoliticsA word like “stumping”, meaning to give numerous speeches to smaller, local crowds of people when campaigning for an election is but one example of a politics-related word which has made it into popular usage. Campaign slogans, speeches and political rallies have been the sources of countless new words and lexis in the English language.o The Media and AdvertisingAnother popular source of a near unending stream of new words and expressions is the media and advertising industry. Admen are always on the prowl for the next catchy slogan or phrase. Using TV and radio commercials, vast fields of fodder for new words are maintained.o Other LanguagesYup, that’s right. English is “notorious” for snapping up words, sounds, phrases and expressions from other languages and “inserting” them into popular colloquial use in the English language. With globalization and immigration growing, and the influence of English and its related cultures expanding, incorporation of new words from other languages is increasing at nearly exponential rates. The English language already owes more than 75% of its lexis and origins to other languages, with no trend for that to end anytime soon.Global Fountains of Linguistic ExpressionThese sources of new words in English are hardly complete. New sources of words, along with new words themselves, crop up from fountains of linguistic expression from around the globe on an almost daily basis. Not only do new words come into vogue, but existing words slip into obsolescence and obscurity. Words can change meanings, be used in new or different ways, have their pronunciation, spelling, register or grammatical aspects altered. Language is a vibrant, growing thing. It’s always changing shifting, growing or sometimes, dying. Our challenge, as English speakers and ELT professionals, is to somehow try to keep up with our ever-changing language.