The Queen’s English could soon become a thing of the past as immigration gradually affects the way we speak.

Linguists have predicted the ‘th’ sound could disappear from speech within 50 years due to the number of foreign visitors who cannot pronounce it.

據語言學家預測,因為很多外國游客無法發出“th”音,“th”音可能會在50年內從口語中消失。

A study suggested urban dialects such as Multicultural London English (MLE) – which incorporates pronunciations from Caribbean, West African and Asian communities – will spread across regions.

一項研究指出,城市方言將席卷各個地區,例如,融合了多種文化的倫敦英語就吸收了加勒比社區、西非社區以及亞洲社區的發音。

In fifty years, regional accents could be wiped out by technology, according to a new report.

一項新報告指出,五十年后,地方口音可能會被技術消滅。

Keyboards will have become obsolete and we will become completely comfortable speaking to our cars, washing machines, fridges, taxi apps and online banking services. Experts have said speech will become the main way we interact with machines, and through this process accents will evolve. The research, for HSBC, suggests conversations with virtual reality assistants, such as the iPhone’s Siri, will influence speech patterns and erase regional accents.

鍵盤會被淘汰,我們會完全適應與車子、洗衣機、冰箱、出租車應用軟件以及網上銀行的對話。專家指出,語音將成為我們與機器溝通的主要方式,而通過這種方法,口音將逐步演化。匯豐集團的一項研究指出,與虛擬現實助手的對話會影響人們的語言表達模式,并且會使他們忘掉地方口音,如蘋果手機的語音控制功能(Siri)。

Key changes anticipated over the next 50 years include shortening of words and simplification of pronunciations as people strive to make talking as easy as possible, the researchers said.

研究員表示,據他們預測,由于人們力圖使溝通盡量簡單些,所以在未來的50年里,(發音中的)關鍵改變將包括讀單詞的時候發短音以及簡化發音。

Tex would replace text, or vex for vexed and think is becoming fink.

According to a report, a preference for informal, chatty and jokey language in the technological and scientific domains is a recent phenomenon, but it’s one which makes these areas seem more accessible and less po-faced, and we are likely to see more and more of it.

報告指出,科技領域對通俗、口語化、詼諧語言的偏愛已成為一種新現象,不過這也使這些領域看上去更平易近人,不再那么一本正經,而這樣的現象,我們很可能會見到更多。