ISSN 2979-8582 · Article No. 065
Monica Nnenne Okafor (PhD): School of Languages, Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Innocent Njoku Nweze (PhD): Department of English, Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Artificial intelligence is redefining the structure, practice, and evolution of English use in the twenty-first century. Generative AI technologies have been rapidly adopted in various fields as the educational tool of choice, language constructor for professional correspondence and creative writing assistance. Although artificial intelligence has gained increasing attention in the academic community, there is a surprising lack of studies focused on practical implications that center around language use, communication and changing discourse practices, especially from applied linguistic perspectives. This article explores the impact of artificial intelligence on modern English usage, including how it has influenced writing and speaking as well as our vocabulary processes and modes of communication in a digital age. It examines, in particular, how AI opens new avenues for language acquisition and communication, the new linguistic and pedagogical issues that arise with such AI-mediated language production, and what it may mean for future English. A qualitative research design based on documentary analysis, discourse analysis and perspectives of recent academic literature was adopted to enrich the study. The analysis is rooted on the Adaptive Linguistic Ecology Framework (ALEF), which proposes an original theoretical model positing that human linguistic creativity, sociocultural context, and algorithmic intelligence constantly co-evolve to give rise to language. It outlines that although artificial intelligence contributes to higher communicative efficiency, improved accessibility and language learning it also promotes linguistic homogenization and less stylistic diversity. The article, therefore, argues that AI should enhance, not replace, linguistic creativity through human agency, and advocates for language education to embrace AI literacy alongside critical language awareness and the preservation of linguistic diversity in digitally mediated communication.
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This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Free to read, share, and adapt with attribution.
British Journal of Contemporary Research
Open Access · Peer Reviewed · Published by Bexford Publishing Ltd
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