Evaluate the idea that English Language is decaying.

The verb "decaying" in the title carries negative connotations of a change or a progression to a corrupt state, suggesting that English is deteriorating and breaking. People who may agree with this view could be described as Prescriptivists, who believe that language has been corrupted from it's once perfect state. They believe this has happened due to language change and that language should be standardised through dictionaries, as it is possible to use dictionaries to determine how language can be "fixed" or reverted to it's previous state. Language change could be explained by Random Fluctuation Theory, which states that language change is not a logical or ordered process, but occurs almost accidently. An example to support this theory can be seen through the word "pwned", creating in online gaming through typing errors in the verb "owned", as the "p" key is next to the "o" key on a keyboard. Prescriptivists may describe this type of language change as the "[decay]" of language, as the verb "owned" has been spelt incorrectly, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

However, the opposing view to prescriptivism is descriptivism, which is the belief that language constantly changes to adapt to the modern-day, contemporary society. A second theory for language change is Functional Theory, which describes a logical procession of language as it changes to suit the needs of it's users. An example of this theory can be seen through the creation of new technology, and as new developments are made, neologisms, such as "DVD" or "television", must also be made to accomodate them. Examples of this can also be seen in computer-mediated communication and it's influences on areas of language such as graphology, where emojis and emoticons have been created. Descriptivists may say that this is not a negative change or the "[decay]" of language, as it demonstrates how society has developed and progressed, which in turn effects the language which that society perpetuates.