Communication Solutions for Global Business

Speak Global English Series
Part 1 of 22:

What is Proper English?

The first question people ask me when they learn that I’m an English speech specialist and communication strategist, is “What is proper English”? There are so many different kinds of English in our world. Which one should we use?
This is a great question, and I’m going to make a lot of people very uncomfortable with my answer:

There is no one, “proper” English! Did you get that?

No matter how hard grammarians, English teachers and language snobs try to maintain rule and order in English, the language continues to change.
The users of the English language — you and me — decide what is proper with every word and sentence we speak and write. Once enough people believe something is proper, guess what… it becomes a rule.

This is exactly why we have so many different varieties of English.
So does this mean we should ignore the rules and guidelines of English?
No. It means we need to know and understand our listeners, and know how to adapt our speech to better fit their expectations.

In international settings, our goal is no longer to be “proper”, but rather to be “understood”. However you get there is up to you.

If you think the Global English shift is as interesting as I do, and you’d like to introduce your company to Global English, visit us at the links below.

I’ll see you tomorrow with part 2 of this 22-part Global English video series. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any of them. And of course feel free to share these videos with friends, post them, like them, embed them — whatever you want. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Please visit us at:

http://bit.ly/free8-partproncourse

http://facebook.com/globalspeechacademy

http://facebook.com/englishpronunciationlab

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shirley Taylor

    Thanks for introducing us to global English, Heather. Great idea for this
    series. I’ll look forward to learning more about how to be understood by
    speaking more clearly.

  6. Heather Hansen

    Haha! Surprise!!! You have a very old-fashioned understanding of ‘proper’
    English! That will, unfortunately, hold you back in your global
    communication. :-/

  7. Fernando Alatorre

    Sorry, but i certainly am not looking for “global communication”, i’m
    rather searching for how to speak properly as it was meant to be, which
    would at least to me be in a european way, since english is a european
    language, american dialect is just that, a dialect of the original form, it
    may be what it is spoken globally but i’m not searching for that..

  8. Heather Hansen

    Sorry, Fernando, but your linguistics studies are a bit rusty. American
    English is not a dialect. It is linguistically categorized as a ‘variety’.
    It is completely independent of British English (another ‘variety’).
    Neither is better or more ‘proper’ than the other (I think this is what
    this video was about????….). I’m also not teaching American English, so
    not sure where that came from. Regardless, you’re right, you’re definitely
    in the wrong place. Good luck finding what you’re looking for!

  15. Richard Head

    I agree with you when it comes to international setting. My business
    requires communicating with people from all over the world. When I speak
    “proper english” with them in Shanghai or in Guatemala, they will always
    ask me to repeat myself. They can understand me better if I talk to them in
    broken english. So anyway….You video…me like much…as in…a
    lot…OKAY??…me go bye bye now. lol

  18. A. M. Goudarzi

    Hi Heather!
    thanks a lot for your videos. I definitely learn a few things every time I
    check your videos. Wish you all the best in attracting more and more
    audience.

    best regards
    Mehdi

  19. Bimal Rathnagoda

    Dear teacher,
    It is a great idea! I agree with you fully. There are no perfect issues in
    the world we live, so in the case of languages, a perfect structure or a
    pure structure can’t be existed because everything in the world is evolved
    every moment. I believe that a language is a dynamic entity with a basic
    shape, but it is not rigid, so it means it should be evolved with time
    considering other factors around. In the highly tiring modern world, people
    always think of using a language that holds simplicity and flexibility
    within a wider spectrum; so, the English language can satisfy the
    requirements of modern, hectic lifestyle. So, I believe that the English
    language belongs to people who utilize it for various activities in the
    modern contexts. It means we need to think of global English deeply rather
    than other divisions of the English language. Thanks! Bye for now!

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