Dialects and Evolution

Robin Lustig explores language change and diversity, as he asks whether English is fragmenting into multiple dialects or becoming increasingly uniform. In Kampala Robin polishes up his Uglish and he finds out how Hinglish, Tamglish and Spanglish are evolving in India and the US.

And everywhere he goes, Robin seeks out new words and phrases as he tracks linguistic change from social media and the streets through a California campus to the corridors of the Oxford English Dictionary. Sorting his memes from his muggles, spotting milkshake ducks and phubbing, Robin explores the future of English in the virtual world and the real one.

(Photo: A Spanglish sign which reads Vote Aqui Hoy. Credit: Getty Images)